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Four  Hundred  \ ears 


AMERICAN  HISTORY. 


BY 

JACOB  HARRIS  PATTON,  AM.,  Ph.D., 

AUTHOR  OF  “NATURAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,”  “POLITICAL 
ECONOMY  FOR  AMERICAN  YOUTH,”  ETC. 


WITH  AN 


IN  TROD  UCTION 


By  JOHN  LORD,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

AUTHOR  OF  “BEACON  LIGHTS  OF  HISTORY,”  ETC. 


VOL.  II. 


NEW  YORK: 


FORDS,  HOWARD,  & HULBERT. 


Copyright  : 

In  i8?6,  by  J.  B.  FORD  & COMPANY;  in  1882, 
1891  and  1892,  by  FORDS,  HOWARD,  & HULBERT. 


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CHAPTER  XLI1. 

MADISON’S  ADMINISTRATION 


Condition  of  the  Country. — Erskine’s  Negotiation. — Depredations  up«n 
American  Commerce. — Bonaparte’s  Rambouillet  Decree. — Aifair  of 
the  Little  Belt. — The  Census. — Indian  Troubles. — Tecumseh  and  the 
Prophet. — Battle  of  Tippecanoe. — The  two  Parties. — The  Twelfth  Con- 
gress.— Henry  Clay. — John  C.  Calhoun. — Threatening  Aspect  of  For- 
eign Relations. — John  Randolph. — Debates  in  Congress. — Another  Em- 
bargo.— War  declared  against  Great  Britain. — Opposition  to  the  War. 
— Riots  at  Baltimore. — Operations  in  the  North-west. — Surrender  of 
Hull. — Impressment  of  American  Seamen. — Failures  to  invade  Canada. 


The  incoming  administration  was  virtually  pledged 
to  continue  the  foreign  policy  of  its  predecessor,  though 
that  policy  had  not  yet  accomplished  what  its  sanguine 
friends  anticipated.  The  prediction  of  the  Federalists — 
the  conservative  party  of  those  days — that  such  measures 
would  lead  to  a war  with  England,  seemed  to  be  near  its 
fulfilment.  The  prospect  was  gloomy  indeed.  The 
nation  was  totally  unprepared  for  such  an  event.  Neithei 
army  nor  navy  to  command  respect  ; no  munitions  of  war 
worthy  the  name  ; the  defences  of  the  seaboard  almost 
worthless  ; the  revenue,  owing  to  the  embargo  and  non- 
intercourse acts,  much  diminished  and  diminishing  more 
and  more.  The  President  and  his  cabinet  desired  to  re- 
lieve the  country  of  these  pressing  evils. 

To  accomplish  this  end,  negotiations  were  commenced 
with  Erskine,  the  resident  British  Minister.  The  youth- 
ful Erskine  was  a generous  and  noble-hearted  man  ; a 


CHAP. 

XLII. 


1809. 


B*VU> 


616 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  warm  friend  of  the  United  States,  unused  to  the  tricks  of 
diplomacy,  he  really  wished  to  act  generously  for  the  in- 

1809.  terests  of  both  nations,  and  not  selfishly  for  his  own.  He 
knew  that  Britain  would  derive  great  advantage  from  the 
renewal  of  trade  with  the  United  States,  and  hoped  that 
the  latter  might  he  induced  to  take  sides  in  the  present 
struggle  against  France. 

In  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  certain  instructions, 
Erskine  thought  himself  authorized  to  offer  “ a suitable 
provision  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  were 
killed  on  hoard  the  Chesapeake,"  and  to  announce  the 
conditional  repeal  of  the  Orders  in  Council  as  far  as  they 
applied  to  the  commerce  of  the  United  States.  This  re- 
peal was  to  take  place  on  the  tenth  of  the  following  June. 

1810.  The  President,  on  this  assurance,  issued  a proclamation, 
giving  permission  for  a renewal  of  commercial  intercourse 

April.  with  Great  Britain.  The  news  was  hailed  with  joy 
throughout  the  land.  In  a few  weeks  more  than  a thou- 
sand ships,  laden  with  American  produce,  were  on  their 
way  to  foreign  markets.  This  gleam  of  sunshine  was  soon 
obscured.  Four  months  after  the  President  issued  another 
proclamation  ; he  now  recalled  the  previous  one,  and  again 
established  non-intercourse  between  the  two  countries. 

The  British  ministry  had  disavowed  the  provisional 
arrangement  made  by  Erskine,  giving  as  one  reason  that 
he  had  gone  beyond  his  instructions.  In  the  communica- 
tion accepting  Erskine's  offer  to  provide  for  the  sufferers 
in  the  Chesapeake  affair,  the  provision  was  spoken  of  as 
an  “ act  of  justice  comporting  with  what  was  due  from  his 
Britannic  majesty  to  his  own  honor."  This  uncourteous 
remark  gave  offence,  and  furnished  another  pretext  for 
breaking  off  the  negotiation. 

The  failure  of  this  arrangement,  which  had  promised 
so  much,  greatly  mortified  the  President  and  his  cabinet, 
and  as  greatly  wounded  the  self-respect  of  the  nation. 
In  consequence  of  this  feeling,  Jackson,  the  special  envoy, 


MERCHANTS  ASK  PERMISSION  TO  ARM  THEIR  SHIPS. 


617 


sent  soon  after  by  England,  was  not  very  graciously  re- 
ceived. Negotiations  were,  however,  commenced  with 
him,  but  after  exchanging  angry  notes  for  some  months, 
all  diplomatic  intercourse  was  suspended  between  the  two 
countries. 

American  commerce  had  now  less  protection  than 
ever.  In  the  desperate'  conflict  going  on  in  Europe  it  was 
impossible  to  obtain  redress  from  any  of  the  belligerents. 
The  ocean  swarmed  with  French  and  English  cruisers, 
while  Danish  privateers  infested  the  northern  seas.  They 
all  enjoyed  a rich  harvest  in  plundering  American  mer- 
chantmen, under  the  convenient  pretence  that  they  car- 
ried goods  contraband  of  war.  Great  numbers  of  ships 
thus  pillaged  were  burned  at  sea  to  destroy  all  traces  of 
the  robbery.  Willing  to  trust  to  their  own  genius  to 
escape  capture,  the  American  merchants  asked  permission 
to  arm  their  ships  in  self-defence.  Congress  denied  the 
request,  on  the  ground  that  such  a state  of  affairs  would 
be  war  ! The  people,  however,  thought  there  was  little 
to  choose  between  actual  war  and  a system  of  active  legal- 
ized piracy.  Even  the  planters  and  farmers,  finding  on 
their  hands  a vast  amount  of  produce,  for  which  a market 
was  denied,  were  now  inclined  to  strengthen  the  navy, 
that  it  might  protect  commerce,  or  if  necessary  make  an 
irruption  into  Canada,  and  by  that  means  compel  Great 
Britain  to  repeal  her  odious  decrees. 

France  in  the  mean  time  was  committing  greater  out- 
rages on  American  commerce  than  even  England.  Bo- 
naparte issued  a decree,  the  Kambouillet,  by  which  any 
American  vessel  that  entered  a French  port  or  a port  of 
any  country  under  French  control,  was  declared  liable  to 
confiscation.  It  shows  the  deliberate  design  of  this  pi- 
ratical decree,  that  it  was  not  promulgated  till  six  weeks 
after  its  date.  The  first  intimation  American  merchants 
received  of  its  existence,  was  the  seizure  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-two  of  their  ships,  in  French  ports.  These 


CHAP 

XLII. 


1810. 


Mai 

28. 


618 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  were  soon  after  sold  with  their  cargoes,  and  the  rnonev, 

. amounting  to  eight  millions  of  dollars,  placed  in  the 

1810.  French  treasury.  Expostulations  against  such  high-handed 
measures  were  treated  with  contempt  and  insult.  The 
French  minister  of  foreign  affairs  even  charged  the  United 
States  u with  a want  of  honor,  energy,  and  just  political 
views/'  in  not  defending  themselves.  Bonaparte's  great 
object  was  to  drive  them  into  a war  with  England,  and 
thus  exclude  from  her  American  produce.  With  this  in- 
tention he  pretended  he  would  revoke  the  Berlin  and  Milan 
decrees,  on  condition  the  United  States  would  make  their 
rights  respected,  or  in  other  words,  go  to  war  with  Eng- 
land. At  this  time  the  only  port  in  Europe  really  open 
to  American  commerce  was  that  of  Archangel  in  Russia. 
There  American  ships,  after  running  the  gauntlet  between 
French  and  Danish  cruisers,  landed  their  cargoes  of 
merchandise,  which  were  thence  smuggled  into  France 
and  Germany. 

Ere  long  Bonaparte's  want  of  money  mastered  his 
hatred  of  England,  and  he  unblushingly  became  the  viola- 
tor of  his  own  decrees,  and  sold  to  the  Americans,  at  enor- 
mous prices,  licenses  which  gave  them  permission  to  in- 
troduce their  products  into  French  ports. 

4 * 

None  felt  the  national  insult  given  in  the  Cfcessjeake 
affair  so  deeply  as  the  naval  officers.  They  wer 
iously  watching  for  an  opportunity  to  retaliate. 

The  frigate  President,  Captain  Rodgers,  was  cruisin^off 
the  capes  of  Delaware,  when  a strange  sloop-of-warjpave 
chase,  but  when  within  a few  miles,  her  signals  nothing 
answered,  she  stood  to  the  southward.  The  President 
now  in  turn  gave  chase,  and  in  the  twilight  of  the  evening 
came  within  hailing  distance.  Rodgers  hailed,  but  was 
answered  by  the  same  question  ; another  hail  was  given 
with  a similar  result.  The  stranger  fired  a gun,  which 
was  replied  to  by  one  from  the  President.  These  were 


TECUMSEH  AND  THE  PROPHET. 


619 


succeeded  by  broadsides  from  both  vessels.  The  action  chap. 

lasted  about  twenty  minutes,  when  the  stranger  was  com-  

pletely  disabled.  Rodgers  hailed  again,  and  now  was  1810. 
answered  that  the  vessel  was  his  Majesty's  sloop-of-war 
Little  Belt.  The  disparity  in  the  injury  done  to  the  re- 
spective vessels  was  quite  remarkable.  The  Little  Belt 
had  more  than  thirty  of  her  crew  killed  and  wounded, 
while  the  President  was  scarcely  injured,  and  had  only  one 
person  slightly  wounded.  The  affair  created  much  ex- 
citement in  both  nations,  and  served  to  increase  that 
alienation  of  feeling  which  had  been  so  long  in  existence. 

The  statements  of  the  commanding  officers  differed  very 
much  as  to  the  commencement  of  the  encounter,  but  as 
each  government  accepted  the  testimony  of  its  own  officers, 
the  matter  was  permitted  to  drop. 

The  census  just  taken,  showed  the  following  result: — 
the  ratio  of  representation  was  fixed  at  thirty-five  thou- 
sand : 

Free  Whites.  Slaves.  All  others.  Totals.  Reps. 

5,862,093.  1,191,364.  186,446.  7,239,903.  182. 

Events  of  serious  interest  were  occurring  on  the  western 
frontier.  Numbers  of  Indian  tribes  from  time  to  time  had 
ceded  their  lands  and  moved  farther  west.  But  the  in- 
satiable white  man  still  pressed  on  ; his  cultivated  fields 
still  encroached  upon  the  Indian's  hunting-grounds,  and 
game  was  fast  disappearing.  When  is  this  grasping  at 
land  to  end  ? asked  the  savages  of  each  other.  Two 
brothers,  twins,  of  the  Shawnee  tribe,  resolved  to  free 
their  brethren  from  the  aggressions  of  the  settlers. 

Their  plans  were  well  laid,  and  showed  an  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  the  secret  of  influence.  The  one,  Tecumseh, 
was  to  play  the  warrior's  part,  the  other  Elskwatawa, 
more  commonly  known  as  the  Prophet,  appealed  to  their 
superstitions  ; he  professed  to  be  a wonderful  medicir  e- 
man,  and  in  communication  with  the  Great  Spirit. 

Tecumseh  travelled  from  tribe  to  tribe,  all  along  the 


620 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AHERICAX  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLII. 

1811. 


frontiers,  from  north  of  the  great  lakes  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  by  his  eloquence  endeavored  to  unite  them 
in  a universal  conspiracy  against  the  common  enemy 
He  knew  the  attempt  to  expel  the  invaders  would  he 
vain,  but  he  hoped  his  people  would  unite  as  one  man, 
and  refuse  to  sell  them  any  more  of  their  lands.  To  ac- 
complish their  purpose  the  Indians  must  be  independent ; 
they  must  dispense  with  the  few  comforts  they  received 
from  the  white  man,  and  they  must  spurn  the  religion 
which  missionaries  had  been  laboring  to  teach  them.  The 
Prophet  fulfilled  his  part ; he  awed  his  simple  auditors 
with  imposing  powwows  ; the  Great  Spirit  had  given  him 
marvellous  powers.  He  could  at  a word  make  pumpkins, 
as  large  as  wigwams,  spring  out  of  the  earth  ; or  ears  of 
corn,  each  large  enough  to  feed  a dozen  men  ; he  appealed 
to  then  reverence  for  the  customs  of  their  ancestors,  and 
sneered  at  their  degradation  in  being  the  slave  of  the 
white  man’s  whiskey,  or  fire-water,  as  he  significantly 
called  it.  He  must  be  obeyed — they  must  throw  aside 
the  blanket  and  dress  in  skins  ; instead  of  the  gun  they 
must  use  the  ancient  how  and  arrow  ; and  the  iron  toma- 
hawk must  give  place  to  the  stone  hatchet  of  their  fathers  ; 
hut  above  all,  they  must  discard  the  religion  of  the  white 
man  ; it  was  the  rejection  of  their  ancient  religion,  which 
made  the  Great  Spirit  so  angry. 

Alarm  spread  along  the  frontier  settlements.  The 
Miamis  had  sold  a portion  of  their  lands  on  both  sides  of 
the  Wabash.  Tecumseh  was  absent  at  the  time,  hut 
protested  afterward,  contending  that  as  all  the  lands  be- 
longed equally  to  all  the  Indians,  no  tribe  had  a right  to 
sell  a portion  of  them  without  the  consent  of  the  others. 

General  William  Henry  Harrison,  the  Governor  of  the 
Territory  of  Indiana,  held  a conference  with  Tecumseh, 
who  at  the  time  professed  to  he  friendly,  hut  his  conduct 
afterward  excited  suspicion.  Lest  the  Indians  should 
unexpectedly  commence  hostilities,  Harrison  marched  to 


BATTLE  OF  TIPPECANOE. 


621 


the  town  lately  established  by  the  Prophet,  at  the  junction 
of  the  Wabash  and  Tippecanoe  rivers.  Messengers  sent 
by  the  Prophet  met  the  army  a few  miles  from  the  town. 
Though  Indians  were  hovering  around  the  army  on  its 
march,  yet  efforts  to  hold  a conference  with  them  had  thus 
far  been  unsuccessful.  The  messengers  expressed  great 
surprise  that  the  Americans  should  approach  their  town, 
since  the  Prophet  and  his  people  were  very  desirous  of 
peace.  Harrison  assured  them  that  he  had  no  intention 
'jO  engage  in  hostilities,  unless  they  themselves  should 
attack  him,  and  he  invited  the  Prophet  and  his  chiefs  to 
an  interview  the  next  day.  The  messengers  departed  ap- 
parently pleased  with  the  proposal,  and  on  their  part 
promised  full  compliance. 

Knowing  the  Indian  character,  Harrison  suspected 
treachery,  and  encamped  with  great  caution  ; his  men, 
placed  in  a hollow  square,  slept  upon  their  arms.  The 
next  morning,  about  four  o'clock,  the  Indians  suddenly 
attacked  the  camp,  but  failed  to  break  the  line.  For 
three  hours  the  contest  was  very  severe.  The  Indians 
would  advance  with  great  impetuosity,  and  then  retreat 
to  renew  the  effort.  These  movements  were  regulated  by 
signals  given  by  rattling  deers'  hoofs.  When  daylight 
appeared,  the  mounted  men  charged,  and  the  savages  fled 
in  great  haste.  The  next  day  the  Prophet's  town  was 
found  to  be  deserted.  Tecumseh  himself  was  not  present 
at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe. 

The  belligerents  of  Europe  still  continued  their  ag- 
gressions upon  American  commerce.  Recent  intelligence 
from  France  indicated  but  little  prospect  of  obtaining  re- 
dress for  present  grievances,  while  the  impressment  ques- 
tion made  the  affairs  with  Great  Britain  still  more  com- 
plicated. Differences  of  opinion  prevailed,  as  to  the  best 
means  of  obtaining  justice  for  these  foreign  aggressions. 
The  people  of  New  England,  and  the  merchants  of  the 


CHAP. 

XLIL 


1811 


Nov. 

7. 


622 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


<gAiv  commercial  cities  and  seaports  of  the  other  States,  felt 

especially  aggrieved  by  the  policy  of  the  national  govern- 

1811.  ment.  The  embargo  and  non-importation  acts  had  mined 
their  commerce,  and  brought  distress  upon  tens  of  thou- 
sands. Upon  them,  almost  alone,  had  fallen  the  evils 
resulting  from  these  political  experiments.  The  people 
of  the  West,  and  of  the  interior  of  the  Atlantic  States, 
were  in  favor  of  hostilities  ; their  territory  would  be  exempt 
from  invasion,  and  they  had  no  seaport  towns  to  suffer 
from  bombardment.  Thus  there  were  really  two  parties, 
the  one  in  favor  of  obtaining  redress  by  peaceful  measures, 
the  other  by  resorting  to  war. 

In  view  of  these  threatening  indications,  the  Presi- 
dent, by  proclamation,  convened  the  twelfth  Congress  a 
Nov.  month  earlier  than  the  usual  time  of  meeting.  This 
Congress  and  the  one  succeeding  are  no  less  remarkable 
for  the  measures  they  introduced  than  for  the  unusual 
number  of  their  members,  who  afterward  filled  a large 
space  in  the  history  of  the  country.  It  was  a transition 
period.  The  patriots  of  the  revolution,  now  venerable 
with  age,  were  fast  passing  away  from  the  councils  of  the 
nation,  while  their  places  were  filled  by  more  youthful 
members.  Heretofore  the  leaders  in  Congress  had  been 
moderate  in  their  measures,  and  were  unwilling,  unless 
for  the  best  of  reasons,  to  plunge  the  nation  into  a war. 

As  a member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  appeared 
Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky.  The  son  of  a Baptist  clergy- 
man of  Virginia,  he  had  been  left  at  an  early  age  a penni- 
less orphan.  Struggling  through  many  trials,  his  native 
eloquence  had  now  placed  him  in  the  foremost  rank  of  his 
country's  orators.  Ardent  and  generous,  bland  and  yet 
imperious,  as  captivating  in  social  life  as  he  was  frank  in 
his  public  acts,  he  was  destined  to  wield  a mighty  in- 
fluence in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  John  C.  Calhoun, 
of  South  Carolina,  was  also  a member  ; the  close  student 
and  ardent  theorist,  dealing  in  first  principles,  he  was 


THREATENING  ASPECT  OF  FOREIGN  RELATIONS. 


623 


logical  and  eloquent.  His  style  more  suited  to  forensic 
debates  than  to  popular  assemblies. 

The  President,  in  his  message,  directed  the  attention 
of  Congress  to  the  threatening  aspect  of  Foreign  Relations. 
This  led  to  animated  debates,  in  which  the  policy  of  peace 
or  war  ; the  defences  of  the  country  ; the  preliminary 
measures  in  case  of  a declaration  of  hostilities,  came  up 
for  discussion.  The  speeches  of  the  members  may  be 
taken  as  the  exponents  of  the  opinions  of  their  constitu- 
ents. The  people  of  the  West  were  especially  clamorous 
for  war.  The  recent  outbreak  of  the  Indians,  on  the 
western  frontiers,  was  confidently  attributed  to  the  in- 
fluence of  British  emissaries.  This  charge,  though  based 
upon  surmises,  served  to  increase  the  prejudice  against 
England,  and  gave  renewed  life  to  the  hatred  of  her  pro- 
duced by  the  Revolution. 

Finally,  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations,  in  their 
report  to  the  House,  recommended,  in  the  words  of  the 
President,  “ That  the  United  States  be  immediately  put 
into  an  armor  and  attitude  demanded  by  the  crisis  ; 
that  an  additional  force  of  ten  thousand  regulars  be 
raised  ; that  the  President  be  authorized  to  accept  the 
services  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers  ; and  also  that  the 
vessels  of  the  navy  worthy  of  repair  be  fitted  up  and  put 
in  commission.”  Two  separate  resolutions  were  offered  ; 
one  authorized  the  merchants  to  arm  in  self-defence,  and 
the  other,  as  a preliminary  to  war,  to  lay  an  embargo  for 
ninety  days.  After  an  animated  discussion  these  were 
both  rejected. 

Felix  Grundy,  of  Tennessee,  avowed  that  the  report 
of  the  Committee  was  designed  to  prepare  the  public  mind 
for  war.  “ We  are  pledged/'  said  he,  “ to  France  to  con- 
tinue our  restrictions  against  Great  Britain  ; we  have  tied 
the  Gordian  knot ; we  cannot  untie  it  ; we  can  cut  it 
with  the  sword."  u Though  our  restrictive  system 
operates  unequally,  we  must  maintain  it."  He  also  advc~ 


CHAP, 

XLII. 


1811 


Dee 


624 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


■CHAP. 

XLII. 


1811. 

Dec. 


cated  the  invasion  and  conquest  of  Canada,  and  the  re- 
ception of  her  inhabitants  as  members  of  the  confederacy, 
in  order  to  preserve  the  equilibrium  of  the  government. 
“ When  Louisiana,”  said  he,  “ will  be  fully  peopled,  the 
Northern  States  will  lose  their  power  ; they  will  be  at  the 
discretion  of  others  ; they  can  be  depressed  at  pleasure.” 
Therefore  he  was  not  only  in  favor  of  admitting  Canada, 
but  also  Florida. 

John  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  in  that  sarcastic  manner 
peculiar  to  himself,  characterized  the  embargo  and  non- 
importation acts  as  most  impolitic  and  ruinous  measures 
— they  had  “ knocked  down  the  price  of  cotton  to  seven 
cents  and  tobacco  to  nothing,”  while  they  had  increased 
the  price  of  every  article  of  first  necessity  three  or  four 
hundred  per  cent.  This  is  the  condition  into  which  we 
have  brought  ourselves  by  our  want  of  wisdom.  But  is 
war  the  true  remedy  ; who  will  profit  by  it  ? Speculators, 
commissioners  and  contractors.  Who  must  suffer  by  it  ? 
The  people.  It  is  their  blood,  their  taxes,  that  must 
flow  to  support  it.  Will  you  plunge  the  nation  into  war, 
because  you  have  passed  a foolish  and  ruinous  law,  and 
are  ashamed  to  repeal  it  ? 

He  indignantly  repelled  the  charge  of  British  attach- 
ment made  against  those  who  were  not  willing  to  rush 
into  war  with  England.  “ Strange,”  said  he,  “ that  we 
have  no  objection  to  any  other  people  or  government, 
civilized  or  savage  ; we  find  no  difficulty  in  maintaining 
relations  of  peace  and  amity  with  the  Autocrat  of  all  the 
Russias  ; with  the  Dey  of  Algiers  and  his  divan  of 
pirates,  or  Little  Turtle  of  the  Miamis,  barbarians  and 
savages,  Turks  and  infidels  of  every  clime  and  color,  with 
them  we  can  trade  and  treat.  But  name  England,  and 
all  our  antipathies  ai  up  in  arms  against  her  ; against 
those  whose  blood  runs  in  our  veins,  in  common  with 
whom  we  claim  Shakspeare  and  Milton,  Newton  and 
Locke,  Sidney  and  Chatham,  as  brethren.  Her  form  of 


DEBATES  IN  CONGRESS HENRY  CLAY. 


625 


government,  the  freest  on  earth,  except  our  own,  and 
from  which  every  valuabie  principle  of  our  institutions  has 
been  borrowed.  There  are  honest  prejudices  growing  out 
of  the  Revolution.  But  by  whom  had  they  been  suppress- 
ed when  they  ran  counter  to  the  interests  of  his  country  ? 
By  Washington.  By  whom  are  they  most  keenly  felt  ? 
By  those  who  have  fled  to  this  abused  country  since  the 
breaking  out  of  the  French  revolution,  and  who  have  set 
themselves  up  as  political  teachers/'  This  was  in  allusion 
to  the  editors  of  nearly  all  the  papers  in  favor  of  war,  who 
were  foreigners — u these  are  the  patriots  who  scruple  not 
to  brand  with  the  epithet  of  Tory,  those  men  by  whose 
blood  your  liberties  have  been  cemented.” 

Henry  Clay  urged,  in  reply,  that  the  only  means  left 
to  obtain  the  recognition  of  our  national  rights  was  to 
fight  for  them.  A war  would  produce  the  repeal  of  the 
Orders  in  Council,  and  give  us  commerce  and  character  ; 
the  nation  by  this  mongrel  peace  would  not  only  lose  its 
commerce,  but  its  honor.  If  we  yield  one  point,  presently 
another  will  be  demanded  ; our  only  safety  is  to  defend 
the  nation’s  rights  ; — even  if  the  seaboard  should  be  sub- 
dued, yet  the  energy  of  the  West  would  save  the  liberties 
of  the  country.  Shall  we  bear  the  cuffs  and  scoffs  of 
British  arrogance,  because  we  fear  French  subjugation? 
Who  ever  learned,  in  the  school  of  base  submission,  the 
lessons  of  noble  freedom,  and  courage,  and  independence  !” 

On  the  other  side  of  the  House,  it  was  admitted  that 
causes  for  war  existed,  but  were  they  sufficient  to  justify 
the  government  of  the  United  States  in  rushing  unpre- 
pared into  a contest  with  the  most  powerful  nation  on 
earth  ? This  was  the  question  to  be  decided  by  Congress. 
“ What  are  we  to  gain  by  war  ? ” asked  Sheffey  of  Vir- 
ginia. “ Shall  we  throw  away  a trade  of  thirty-two  millions 
with  Great  Britain  for  two  with  France  ? Peace  is  our 
policy  ; we  are  now  the  most  prosperous  and  happy 
people  on  earth.  This  is  more  to  us,  than  all  the  Orders 


CHAP 

XLII. 


1811 


Sept 

K 


626 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLH. 


1811. 


1812. 


in  Council  or  the  trade  with  France.  "We  cannot  bring 
Great  Britain  to  terms  hv  embargo  and  non-importation 
acts  ; neither  can  we  starve  the  world  by  refusing  to  ex- 
port our  surplus  grain.  Our  revenue  is  low  enough  now, 
in  time  of  war  it  will  he  almost  nothing.  We  should  he 
willing  to  fight  for  the  rights  of  impressed  native-born 
Americans,  hut  not  for  the  right  to  harbor  deserters  from 
the  British  service.” — “ Is  this  embargo  a preparation  for 
war  ? ” asked  Josiah  Quincy  of  Massachusetts.  a We  have 
no  information  that  England  intends  war.  It  is  her 
policy  to  continue  commerce  with  us,  not  to  destroy  it. 
But  we  are  told  that  the  object  is  to  protect  our  merchants. 
Heaven  help  them  from  embargo  protection  ! The  mer- 
chants have  petitioned — not  for  embargo — not  for  com- 
mercial embarrassment  and  annihilation — but  for  pro- 
tection/' 

While  these  debates  were  in  progress  in  the  House,  the 
same  general  subject  was  under  discussion  in  the  Senate. 
In  both  Houses  an  unusual  number  of  southern  members 
were  now  in  favor  of  making  the  navy  more  efficient.  It 
was  urged  that  the  only  way  to  bring  Great  Britain  to 
terms  was  by  harassing  her  commerce  on  the  ocean.  To 
do  this  a fleet  was  needed.  “ Create  a fleet  of  thirty  frigates," 
said  Lloyd,  of  Massachusetts,  “ and  Hew  England  alone 
will  officer  it  in  five  weeks."  “ How  can  we  contend  with 
the  most  colossal  power  the  world  ever  saw,  except  by  our 
navy,  scattered  over  the  ocean,  requiring  ten  times  as 
many  British  vessels  to  watch  them  ? Adopt  this  policy, 
and  soon  the  English  people  would  ask  their  government. 
Why  this  war  upon  our  trade  P why  violate  the  rights  of 
Americans  ?'  For  whose  benefit  is  this  war  ? Soon  you 
will  force  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  become  their 


1 “They  (the  Orders  in  Council)  were  grievously  unjust  to  neutrals,  and 
it  is  now  (1850)  generally  allowed  that  they  were  contrary  to  the  law  of  na> 
tions,  and  to  our  own  municipal  laws.” — Lord  Chief  Justice  Campbell,  ic 
his  Lives  of  the  Cl  ncellors,  vol  vii.  p.  218. 


THE  PRESIDENT  RECOMMENDS  WAR. 


627 


own  manufacturers  ; you  will  stimulate  them  to  become 
a naval  power,  which  one  day  may  dispute  with  you  the 
supremacy  of  the  ocean.”  u In  a short  time  the  English 
government  would  he  compelled  to  repeal  its  odious  de- 
crees.” “ To  protect  commerce  is  to  aid  agriculture,  to 
benefit  the  northern  as  well  as  the  middle  and  southern 
States.  Moreover,  it  is  essential  to  the  preservation  of 
the  Union  ; the  commercial  States  will  not  endure  that 
their  rights  should  be  systematically  trampled  upon  from 
year  to  year,  and  they  denied  the  defence  which  the  God 
of  nature  has  given  them.” 

The  discussions  of  these  five  months  had  a great  influ- 
ence upon  the  public  mind.  Though  unwilling  to  use 
harsher  measures  than  to  authorize  the  merchants  to  de- 
fend themselves  by  arming  their  ships,  the  President  sent 
a special  message  to  Congress  recommending  an  embargo 
for  sixty  days.  The  hill  was  amended  by  substituting 
ninety  for  sixty,  in  which  form  it  passed,  debate  being  cut 
short  by  the  rule  of  the  previous  question. 

One  month  and  a half  later,  intelligence  from  France 
made  known  that  Bonaparte,  in  violation  of  his  word,  had 
declared  the  obnoxious  decrees  of  Berlin  and  Milan  hence- 
forth the  settled  policy  of  the  Empire.  Thus  the  Emperor 
had  entrapped  the  President.  But  England  was  as  much 
in  the  wrong  as  France,  and  if  so,  why  not  declare  war 
against  both  ? — It  was  openly  avowed  in  Parliament  that 
the  offensive  decrees  and  blockades  must  be  maintained, 
or  France  could  receive  raw  material  from  the  United 
States  ; continue  her  manufactures,  and  thus  obtain  the 
means  to  carry  on  the  war.  Great  Britain  also  wished  to 
secure  for  her  own  people  the  monopoly  of  commerce,  as 
well  as  that  of  manufacturing  for  the  world. 

The  President  finally  sent  another  message  to  Congress, 
in  which  he  recapitulated  the  wrongs  inflicted  by  England 
in  her  impressments  and  violations  of  the  rights  of  neutrals. 
This  was  plainly  a war  message,  and  in  accordance  with 


CHAP, 

XLII. 


1812 


A'oru 

4. 


June 


628 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLII. 


1812. 

June 

18. 


that  view,  a bill  was  drawn  up  declaring  war  against 
Great  Britain.  It  was  passed  by  a strictly  party  vote  : — 
in  the  House  79  to  49,  in  the  Senate  19  to  13. 

The  people  were  far  from  being  unanimous  in  their 
approbation  of  the  declaration  of  war.  The  minority  of 
the  Lower  House  of  Congress  published  an  address  to 
their  constituents,  in  which  the  views  of  those  opposed  to 
the  war  found  expression.  After  a review  of  the  contro- 
versy between  the  U nited  States  and  the  belligerents,  they 
contend  there  was  equ'al  cause  for  hostilities  against  both 
England  and  France  ; that  it  was  unreasonable  to  expect 
the  full  recognition  of  neutrals'  rights  while  the  desperate 
conflict  in  Europe  was  in  progress  ; that  conflict  would 
soon  end,  and  then  the  cause  for  war  on  our  part  would  be 
removed.  The  Address  says,  “ The  effect  of  the  British 
orders  of  blockade,  is  to  deprive  us  of  the  commerce  of 
France  and  her  dependencies,  while  they  leave  open  to  us 
the  commerce  of  all  the  rest  of  the  world  ; the  former 
worth  yearly  about  six  millions  and  a half,  and  the  latter 
worth  thirty-eight  millions.  Shall  the  latter  be  sacrificed 
for  the  former  ? A nation  like  the  United  States,  happy 
in  its  great  local  relations  ; removed  from  that  bloody 
theatre  of  Europe,  with  a maritime  border  opening  vast 
fields  of  enterprise  ; with  territorial  possessions  exceeding 
every  real  want  ; its  firesides  safe  ; its  altars  undefiled  ; 
from  invasion  nothing  to  fear  ; from  acquisition  nothing 
to  hope,  how  shall  such  a nation  look  to  Heaven  for  its 
smiles,  while  throwing  away  as  though  they  were  worth 
less,  all  the  blessings  and  joys  which  peace  and  such  a 
distinguished  lot  include  P But  how  will  war  upon  the 
land  protect  commerce  ? How  are  our  mariners  to  be 
benefited  by  a war  which  exposes  those  who  are  free, 
without  promising  release  to  those  wTho  are  impressed  ? 
But  it  is  said  that  war  is  demanded  by  honor.  If  honor 
demands  a war  with  England,  what  opiate  lulls  that 
honor  to  sleep  over  the  wrongs  done  us  by  F ranee  ? ” 


THE  EMBARRASSMENTS  OF  CONGRESS. 


629 


Such  was  the  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  expediency  chap. 

of  engaging  in  war,  especially  when  the  country,  in  every  

respect,  was  so  unprepared.  The  opponents  of  the  measure  1812 
were  assailed  as  unpatriotic,  which  they  retorted  by  charg- 
ing the  advocates  of  war  with  subserviency  to  the  policy 
of  France. 

It  was  easier  for  Congress  to  declare  war,  than  to  ob- 
tain the  means  to  prosecute  it.  The  treasury  was  almost 
empty,  the  non-importation  acts,  and  embargoes,  had 
nearly  ruined  the  revenue  ; the  army  was  very  limited  in 
number,  and  very  deficient  in  officers  of  experience  ; while 
the  navy  was  wanting  in  ships  and  munitions.  Congress 
passed  a bill  to  enlist  twenty-five  thousand  men  as  regu- 
lars, and  authorized  the  President  to  accept  the  services 
of  fifty  thousand  volunteers. 

In  appointing  officers  for  the  army,  recourse  was 
had,  almost  exclusively,  to  those  who  had  served  in  the 
Kevolution  ; but  the  most  prominent  of  these  had  passed 
away,  and  the  remainder,  with  but  one  or  two  exceptions, 
had  been  engaged  in  civil  affairs  for  thirty  years  ; and 
men  competent  to  drill  the  recruits  were  not  to  be  found. 

To  remedy  this  want,  Congress,  now  for  the  first  time, 
made  provision  for  the  constant  and  liberal  instruction  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  cadets  in  the  military  art,  by  estab- 
lishing professorships  in  the  Academy  at  West  Point. 

Here  was  another  instance  of  the  foresight  of  Washing- 
ton. He  had,  during  his  administration,  urged  upon  Con- 
gress to  establish  and  maintain  a school  in  which  military 
tactics  should  be  taught  to  officers,  who  in  turn  could 
easily  drill  the  militia.  The  wise  policy  of  the  measure 
was  amply  shown  in  the  rapidity  with  which  the  American 
volunteers  were  drilled  and  made  efficient  soldiers  in  the 
late  Mexican  war.  But  for  the  present  the  nation  suffered  1846 
severely  from  false  economy  in  not  founding  the  Academy 
when  first  proposed. 

The  first  exhibition  of  the  war  spirit  and  the  party 


630 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLII. 


1812. 


June 

22. 


feeling  which  existed  was  an  attempt  to  stifle  the  freedom  of 
the  press.  The  editor  of  a paper  in  Baltimore,  Alexander 
Hanson,  a.  grandson  of  a president  of  the  continental  con- 
gress, had  spoken  in  moderate  terms  in  condemnation  of  the 
declaration  of  war.  A few  days  after,  the  mob,  headed  by 
a Frenchman,  destroyed  his  press  and  compelled  him  to 
fly  for  his  life.  Receiving  no  protection  in  his  rights,  as 
the  magistrates  connived  at  the  outrage,  Hanson  and  some 
twenty  others  thought  it  their  duty  to  vindicate  the 
liberty  of  the  press.  Among  this  number  was  General 
Henry  Lee, — the  chivalric  Light  Horse  Harry  of  the  Rev- 
olution,— the  intimate  friend  of  Washington,  his  eulo- 
gist by  appointment  of  Congress,  afterward  Governor  of 
Virginia,  and  General  Lingan,  also  a worthy  officer  of  the 
Revolution.  They  determined  to  defend  the  office  of  the 
paper.  The  mob  appeared  and  stoned  the  house  ; the 
magistrates  meanwhile  made  no  effort  to  quell  the  riot. 
Thus  the  rabble  raged  during  the  night  ; in  their  attempts 
to  force  their  way  into  the  house,  one  of  the  ringleaders 
was  shot.  General  Lingan  was  killed  outright,  and  some 
of  the  other  defenders  of  the  office  were  most  shamefully 
mangled  and  abused.  General  Lee  w^as  maimed  for  life. 
The  leaders  of  the  riot  were  never  punished,  though 
afterwards  brought  to  trial, — a mere  farce, — the  district 
attorney  even  expressing  his  regret  that  all  the  defenders 
of  the  office  had  not  been  killed. 

General  William  Hull,  who  had  served  with  some  dis- 
tinction in  the  Revolution,  and  now  Governor  of  Michigan 
Territory,  was  appointed  commander  of  the  forces  in  that 
region.  The  Territory  contained  about  five  thousand  in- 
habitants, mostly  of  French  origin.  He  received  orders  to 
invade  Canada,  the  ardent  friends  of  the  war  complacently 
thinking  the  inhabitants  of  that  British  province  would 
cheerfully  put  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the 
stars  and  stripes.  Hull,  however,  found  himself  in  a short 
time  surrounded  by  a superior  force  of  British  and  In- 


GENERAL  HULL  SURRENDERS  HIS  ARM'S. 


631 


dians  ; the  enemy  also  held  possession  of  Lake  Erie,  and 
had  easy  communication  with  the  rest  of  Canada,  while 
between  Hulks  army  and  the  settlements,  intervened  a 
vast  and  unbroken  forest  of  two  hundred  miles.  He 
urged  upon  the  government  to  secure  the  command  of  the 
Lake  before  any  attempt  should  be  made  at  invasion,  and 
also  to  furnish  him  not  less  than  three  thousand  well  pro- 
visioned troops.  But  he  was  told  that  he  must  content 
himself  with  two  thousand  men,  while  nothing  could  be 
done  to  secure  the  control  of  the  Lake. 

When  Hull  arrived  at  Detroit,  then  a village  of  some 
eight  hundred  inhabitants,  he  had  but  eighteen  hundred 
men,  of  whom  the  greater  part  were  militia  ; there  he  re- 
ceived orders  to  invade  Canada  immediately.  But  by  a 
strange  blunder,  the  intelligence  of  the  declaration  of  war, 
designed  for  Hull,  and  franked  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British.  They  availed 
themselves  of  the  information,  and  immediately  seized  Mack- 
inaw ; the  first  intimation  the  garrison  of  that  distant  post 
received  of  the  declaration  of  war.  In  a short  time  Hull 
himself  was  surrounded,  and  his  communications  cut  off. 

The  British  general  Proctor  came  up  the  Lake  with 
reinforcements,  whilst  the  British  Fur  Company  enlisted 
their  employees  and  excited  the  Indians.  To  open  a road 
and  obtain  supplies,  Hull  sent  out  a detachment,  but  it 
fell  into  an  ambuscade  and  was  defeated.  He  now  fortified 
himself,  and  to  open  communications  to  the  river  Raisin, 
sent  another  detachment  under  Colonels  McArthur  and 
Cass  ; they  became  bewildered  in  a swamp,  and  were  forced 
to  find  their  way  back  to  the  camp. 

Presently  General  Brock,  governor  of  Lower  Canada, 
arrived  at  Malden  with  more  reinforcements.  He  passed 
over  the  river  and  summoned  Hull  to  surrender,  who  re- 
fused, and  an  attack  was  made  upon  his  position,  both 
from  the  British  vessels  and  batteries.  Brock  landed  and 
approached  with  seven  hundred  and  fifty  regulars,  and  as 


3HAP, 

XLII 


1812. 


July 

9. 


Aug 

14. 


632 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLII. 


1812. 

Aug. 

16. 


many  Indians.  Hull  had  but  eight  hundred  men,  and 
threatened  with  destruction,  as  he  imagined,  by  an  over- 
whelming force,  he  surrendered  his  army  and  all  Michigan 
at  the  same  time. 

G-reat  indignation  was  expressed  at  this  failure.  The 
difficulties  of  Hull’s  position  were  very  great,  and  perhaps, 
while  no  one  doubted  his  personal  courage,  he  may  have 
wanted  that  sternness  of  soul  so  necessary  to  a successful 
commander.  Those  in  authority  screened  themselves,  by 
making  the  unfortunate  general  the  scape-goat  for  their 
blunders,  in  sending  him  with  a force  and  means  so  inade- 
quate. When  brought  to  trial,  two  years  afterward,  he 
urged  in  defence,  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory 
would  have  been  exposed  to  certain  massacre  had  he  at- 
tempted further  resistance.  The  court,  however,  found 
him  guilty  of  cowardice,  and  sentenced  him  to  he  shot  ; 
but  in  consideration  of  his  revolutionary  services,  the  Presi- 
dent granted  him  a pardon.  His  papers,  since  published, 
have  revealed  the  insurmountable  difficulties  that  sur- 
rounded him. 

It  is  remarkable  that  one  of  the  causes  of  the  war,  was 
removed  within  four  days  after  its  declaration.  France 
unconditionally  repealed  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees, 
then  Great  Britain  repealed  her  Orders  in  Council,  which 
had  been  based  on  the  French  decrees.  The  impressment 
question  still  remained  unsettled.  Nearly  six  thousand 
cases  of  alleged  impressment  were  on  record  in  the  State 
Department  at  Washington.  It  was  admitted  on  the 
floor  of  the  House  of  Commons,  that  there  were  probably 
sixteen  hundred  native-born  Americans  held  in  bondage 
in  the  British  navy.  Of  these  several  hundred  had  already 
been  liberated,  and  a willingness  was  expressed  to  dis- 
charge the  remainder,  as  soon  as  their  nationality  was 
fully  known.  But  the  British  naval  officers  complained 
that  the  plea  of  American  citizenship  was  very  much 
abused  ; by  forged  documents,  or  by  certificates,  originally 


AMERICAN  SHIPS  IN  ENGLISH  PORTS. 


633 


genuine,  but  transferred  from  one  seaman  to  another  as  oc-  chap. 

casion  required.  The  English  government,  moreover,  was  so 

trammelled  by  forms  that  very  seldom  could  the  impressed  1812 
sailor  obtain  redress  ; all  such  cases  must  be  brought  be- 
fore the  Court  of  Admiralty  in  London,  to  reach  which 
was  almost  impossible. 

This,  after  all,  was  to  be  a war  to  protect  personal  free- 
dom ; to  obtain  security  from  the  visits  to  our  ships  of 
British  press-gangs,  led  by  insolent  officers,  and  as  such 
took  hold  of  the  sympathies  of  the  American  people. 

But  Britain  said,  pass  a law  prohibiting  our  seamen  from 
enlisting  in  your  service,  and  we  will  not  search  your 
ships.  The  reply  was,  the  flag  of  the  United  States,  must 
shield  those  seeking  its  protection.  This  sentiment  ap- 
peared to  England  very  like  an  effort  to  seduce  her  sea- 
men from  their  allegiance. 

When  intelligence  of  the  declaration  of  war  reached 
England,  the  government  acted  generously  in  relation  to 
the  American  vessels  in  its  ports.  Instead  of  being  con-  Aag 
fiscated  as  in  France,  these  ships  were  permitted  six 
weeks  to  load  and  unload,  and  in  addition  were  furnished 
with  protections  against  capture  by  English  cruisers  on 
their  way  home.  Yet  these  very  vessels  and  their  car- 
goes were  liable  to  confiscation,  when  they  should  arrive 
in  their  own  land,  and  that  by  a law  of  Congress  ! 

As  one  of  the  causes  of  the  war  had  been  removed, 
Foster,  the  British  Minister  at  Washington,  proposed  a 
cessation  of  hostilities  until  another  effort  should  be  made 
to  arrange  the  impressment  question.  This  proposal  was 
not  accepted  by  the  American  government.  Not  until 
all  hope  of  reconciliation  was  passed,  did  the  English  au- 
thorities issue  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  against 
American  commerce  ; and  they  still  continued  to  grant 
licenses  and  protection  to  American  vessels  carrying  flour 
to  Spain  for  the  use  of  the  British  armies  in  that  country. 

Hulks  surrender  threw  a shadow  over  the  prospect  of 


634 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLII. 


1812. 


Sept 


Oct. 

9. 


conquering  Canada.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  in* 
crease  the  army  on  the  frontiers  of  New  York.  Majoi 
General  Dearborn,  who,  when  a youth,  had  served  in  the 
Revolution,  and  had  been  Secretary  of  War,  under  Jeffer- 
son, had  under  his  command,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain, five  thousand  troops,  three  thousand  of  whom  were 
regulars  ; and  two  thousand  militia  were  stationed  at 
different  points  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  east  of  Sackett’s 
Harbor,  while  another  army,  miscellaneous  in  character, 
being  composed  of  regulars,  volunteers  and  militia,  was 
stationed  at  different  points  from  the  village  of  Buffalo  to 
Fort  Niagara.  The  latter  troops  were  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Yan  Rensselaer. 

To  insure  success  the  Americans  must  have  the  con- 
trol of  the  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario  ; on  the  latter  they 
had  already  a little  sloop-of-war,  of  sixteen  guns,  and 
manned  by  a regular  crew.  Captain  Chauncey,  of  the 
navy  yard  at  New  York,  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Lakes.  He  purchased  some  merchant  vessels,  and 
fitted  them  out  with  guns  and  other  equipments,  brought 
from  Albany,  at  an  immense  amount  of  labor.  He  soon 
however  swept  the  Lake  of  British  ships,  which  took 
refuge  in  Kingston  harbor  ; the  Frontenac  of  the  times  of 
French  rule  in  that  quarter.  Lieutenant  Elliot,  in  the 
mean  time,  was  sent  to  equip  a fleet  on  Lake  Erie.  By 
a daring  exploit  he  cut  out  from  under  the  guns  of  Fort 
Erie,  two  British  armed  vessels,  which  had  just  come 
down  the  Lake  from  Detroit. 

The  invasion  of  Canada  commenced  by  an  attempt  to 
obtain  possession  of  Queenstown,  on  Niagara  river.  Owing 
to  a deficiency  of  boats,  only  about  six  hundred  men, 
partly  regulars  and  partly  militia,  passed  over.  Colonel 
S.  Yan  Rensselaer,  who  commanded  the  militia,  became 
separated  from  his  men,  and  Colonel  Christie,  who  com- 
manded the  regulars,  failed  on  account  of  the  rapidity  of 
the  current  to  reach  the  shore.  Those  who  landed  were 


DEATH  OF  GENERAL  BROCK — AMERICAN  PRISONERS. 


635 


immediately  attacked  with  great  vigor.  Rensselaer  soon 
fell,  wounded,  but  he  ordered  Captains  Ogilvie  and  Wool 
to  storm  the  battery,  which  they  did  in  fine  style, 
driving  the  British  into  a strong  stone  house,  from  which 
they  could  not  be  dislodged.  General  Brock,  the  same 
to  whom  Hull  surrendered  a few  months  before,  was 
in  command.  Suddenly  he  headed  a sortie  from  this 
house,  which  was  promptly  repulsed,  and  he  himself 
slain. 

During  this  time,  a space  of  five  or  six  hours,  the 
Americans  were  striving  to  pass  the  river,  hut  only  five 
or  six  hundred  succeeded.  Suddenly  a hand  of  Indians 
emerged  from  the  woods,  and  joined  in  the  fray  ; these 
were  soon  put  to  flight  by  Lieutenant  Winfield  Scott, 
who,  with  a company  of  regulars,  volunteered  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  want  of  boats,  and  the  want  of  system,  had 
prevented  a suitable  number  of  Americans  from  passing 
over.  In  the  mean  while  General  Sheafe  was  advancing 
from  Fort  George,  with  reinforcements  for  the  British. 
This  intelligence,  together  with  the  sight  of  the  wounded, 
who  were  brought  in  boats  to  the  American  side,  somewhat 
cooled  the  ardor  of  the  militia,  and  they  refused  to  pass 
the  river  to  aid  their  countrymen.  Their  wits  were  also 
sharpened,  and  they  suddenly  discovered  that  their  com- 
mander had  no  constitutional  authority  to  lead  them  into 
Canada.  The  result  was,  that  those  who  had  gone  over, 
about  one  thousand  in  number,  were  compelled  to  surren- 
der themselves  prisoners  of  war.  General  Van  Rensselaer, 
mortified  at  the  want  of  spirit  manifested  on  the  occasion, 
resigned  his  command  in  disgust. 

Inefficiency  reigned  in  triumph  all  along  the  frontier. 
An  expedition  against  Detroit,  under  the  command  of 
Harrison,  was  abandoned  for  want  of  means.  The  volun- 
teers from  Kentucky,  as  well  as  others,  became  mutinous 
and  refused  to  advance.  One  failure  followed  another  in 
rapid  succession.  The  officers  were  quarrelling  among 


CHAP. 

XLII. 


1812. 


Oct. 

13. 


636 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAP. 

XLII. 


1812. 


1807. 


1810. 


1833. 


1882. 


themselves,  charging  each  other  with  cowardice  and 
fighting  bloodless  duels,  while  the  soldiers  deserted  in 
bands,  and  those  who  remained  were  insubordinate.  These 
failures  were  unsparingly  ridiculed  in  the  newspapers 
opposed  to  the  war. 

Soon  after  the  establishment  of  the  Government  the 
religious  portion  of  the  people  began  to  inquire  as  to  their 
duty  in  sending  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen  of  other  lands. 
Samuel  J.  Mills  and  some  other  students  of  Williams  Col- 
lege consecrated  themselves  to  the  work  of  foreign  missions. 
A monument — a marble  shaft  surmounted  by  a globe — in 
Mills  Park,  just  outside  the  village,  marks  the  spot  where 
these  students  met  behind  a haystack  to  confer  with  each 
other  and  consecrate  themselves  to  the  work  of  evangelizing 
the  heathen.  The  result  was  the  formation  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Missions,  which  has  had  a remarkable  success 
in  extending  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  and  introducing 
a Christian  civilization  in  remote  heathen  lands.  This 
Society  was  specially  patronized  by  the  Congregation  alists 
and  Presbyterians  ; the  latter,  after  twenty-one  years  of  co- 
operation, withdrew  and  formed  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions.  Meanwhile  other  denominations  entered 
with  zeal  upon  tne  work — the  Baptists  (1814),  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  (1819),  Reformed  Dutch  Church  (1832), 
Protestant  Episcopal  (1835),  and  afterward  others  ; in  all 
fifteen  societies  were  formed.  Under  the  control  of  these 
societies  the  missionaries  and  native  teachers  whom  they 
have  trained  now  number  many  thousands.  The  exertions 
of  these  devoted  men  have  been  crowned  with  remarkable 
success  ; they  have  displayed  much  practical  wisdom  in  the 
management  of  the  missions,  and  have  translated  the 
Scriptures  into  the  languages  of  the  various  people  with 
whom  they  labored.  For  these  evidences  of  their  scholar- 
ship and  their  enlightened  zeal  they  have  oftentimes  re- 
ceived the  commendations  and  thanks  of  European  educated 
men  and  statesmen. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

MADISON’S  ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

The  Vessels  of  the  Navy. — The  chase  of  the  Constitution. — Capture  of  the 
Alert. — The  Guerriere. — Incidents. — The  Macedonian. — The  Frolic. — 
The  Java. — The  effects  of  these  Naval  Conflicts  in  the  United  States 
and  England. — Plan  of  Operations.— Harrison  advances  on  Detroit. — 
General  Winchester  a Prisoner;  Indian  Barbarities. — The  Kentuckians 
fall  into  an  Ambuscade. — Repulse  at  Fort  Stephenson. — The  loss  of  the 
Chesapeake. — Perry’s  Victory. — Battle  of  the  Thames. — Andrew  Jack- 
son. — Leads  an  Expedition;  its  Termination. — York  captured;  Death 
of  General  Pike. — Wilkinson  transferred  to  the  North. — Another  at- 
tempt to  conquer  Canada. — Fort  George  destroyed  ; Newark  burned. — 
The  severe  Retaliation. — The  American  Coast  blockaded. — Ravages  on 
the  Shores  of  Chesapeake  Bay. — Indian  War  in  the  South. — Jackson 
and  others  in  the  Field. — Battle  at  the  Great  Horse  Shoe. — Captain 
Porter’s  Cruise. 


W hile  the  disasters  recorded  in  the  last  chapter  were 
in  progress,  the  despised  little  navy  had  won  laurels,  by  a 
series  of  victories  as  unexpected  as  they  were  glorious. 
When  the  war  commenced,  the  whole  navy  of  the  United 
States  in  commission,  consisted  of  only  three  first  class 
frigates  ; the  President,  the  Constitution,  and  the  United 
States  ; of  the  second  class  two,  the  Congress  and  the 
Essex  ; the  Wasp  and  Hornet,  sloops-of-war  ; and  the 
brigs  Argus,  Syren,  Nautilus,  Enterprise,  and  Vixen. 
The  second  class  frigates  Chesapeake,  Constellation,  and 
John  Adams,  were  undergoing  repairs.  The  fleet  was 
ordered  to  assemble  at  New  York  to  be  in  readiness  to 
defend  harbors,  and  not  to  venture  to  sea,  lest  it  shoidd 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 

1812. 


638 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 


1812. 


July. 


fall  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  ; a result  which  had  been 
predicted  again  and  again.  Owing  to  the  urgent  remon- 
strances of  Captains  Stewart  and  Bainbridge,  the  intention 
of  thus  withdrawing  the  navy  was  abandoned.  Within  a 
few  hours  after  the  declaration  of  war  wTas  known  in  New 
York,  a portion  of  the  fleet  was  passing  out  to  sea,  in 
search  of  the  enemy.  This  prompt  movement  was  made 
for  the  double  purpose  of  avoiding  the  orders,  which  the 
officers  suspected  were  on  the  way  from  Washington,  to 
detain  them  in  the  harbor,  and  to  make  a dash  at  the 
Jamaica  fleet,  said  to  be  passing  under  convoy  off  the  coast. 
When  two  days  out,  they  chased  and  exchanged  shots 
with  the  British  frigate  Belvidera,  which,  however,  escaped 
and  carried  the  news  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities 
to  Halifax.  The  Americans  continued  the  pursuit  of  the 
Jamaica  fleet,  even  to  the  entrance  of  the  British  Channel, 
but  without  overtaking  it. 

Meanwhile  a British  squadron  issued  from  Halifax,  to 
cruise  off  the  port  of  New  York.  The  Constitution,  better 
known  as  Old  Ironsides,  commanded  by  Captain  Isaac 
Hull,  in  endeavoring  to  enter  that  port  fell  in  with  this 
fleet,  and  was  chased  by  all  its  vessels  for  four  days — the 
most  remarkable  chase  on  record.  The  unexampled  skill 
with  which  she  was  managed,  elicited  universal  admira- 
tion. Every  nautical  device  was  exhausted  ; such  as 
during  a calm  carrying  out  anchors  and  dropping  them, 
and  then  pulling  the  ship  up  ; in  the  mean  while,  when 
opportunity  served,  exchanging  shots  with  her  adversaries. 
Finally  she  escaped  into  Boston.  Orders  from  Washing- 
ton were  sent  to  Captain  Hull  to  remain  there  ; hut  he 
anticipated  them,  and  put  to  sea  before  they  arrived. 

The  Essex  was  the  first  to  capture  a prize — a trans- 
port filled  with  soldiers — and  shortly  after,  the  British 
sloop-of-war  Alert.  The  latter  mistook  the  Essex  for  a 
merchantman,  and  came  on  expecting  an  easy  victory,  but 


CAPTURE  OF  THE  GUERRIERE INCIDENTS. 


639 


found  herself  so  severely  handled,  that  in  a few  minutes 
she  was  fain  to  strike  her  colors. 

Off  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  Captain  Hull  fell 
in  with  the  British  frigate  Guerriere,  one  of  the  fleet 
which  had  recently  chased  him.  The  Guerriere  was  on 
the  look-out  for  “ Yankee  craft ; ” on  one  of  her  flags  was 
the  inscription,  Not  the  Little  Belt.  Courting  the  combat, 
she  shortened  sail,  and  at  long  range  opened  upon  the 
approaching  Constitution  ; the  latter  did  not  fire  a gun, 
but  manoeuvred  to  obtain  a desirable  position.  Thus  an 
hour  and  a half  was  consumed.  When  the  Constitution 
secured  her  position,  she  poured  in  her  broadsides  with 
such  rapidity  and  effect,  that  the  enemy  struck  his  colors 
in  thirty  minutes.  So  completely  was  the  Guerriere  cut 
to  pieces,  that  it  was  impossible  to  bring  her  into  port, 
and  Hull  ordered  her  to  be  burned.  The  Guerriere  had 
seventy-nine  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  Constitution 
had  only  seven,  and  was  ready  for  action  the  next  day. 
In  connection  with  this  encounter  may  be  related  two  in- 
cidents, which  show  the  spirit  on  board  the  respective 
ships.  When  the  Constitution  came  within  cannon-shot, 
the  opening  fire  from  the  Guerriere  killed  two  men.  The 
men  were  impatient  to  avenge  their  companions,  and 
Lieutenant  Morris  came  on  deck,  and  asked,  “ Can  we  re- 
turn the  fire,  sir  P ” “ No,  sir,”  calmly  replied  Hull.  Soon 
after,  Morris  came  again,  and  reported  that  another  man 
was  slain,  and  asked  again,  u Shall  we  return  the  fire?” 
“ No,  sir,”  was  still  the  reply.  For  the  third  time,  Morris 
soon  appeared  : “ Can  we  fire  now  ? ” Hull,  pausing  a mo- 
ment to  survey  the  position  of  the  ships,  replied,  “ Yes,  sir, 
you  may  fire  now.”  The  order  was  promptly  obeyed,  and 
Hull,  with  his  eye  intently  fixed  upon  the  enemy,  ex- 
claimed, when  he  saw  the  effect,  “ That  ship  is  ours  ! ” 

On  board  the  Guerriere  were  ten  impressed  Americans. 
They  refused  to  fight  against  their  countrymen,  and  were 
ordered  below.  One  of  them  was  afterward  called  upon 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 


1812. 


A113 

19. 


640 


HISTORY  OF  THE  A3IERICAX  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 


1812. 


Oct. 

23. 


Oct. 

13. 


deck,  and  asked  by  Captain  Dacres  if  be  knew  the  char- 
acter of  the  approaching  ship.  He  answered  she  was  a 
frigate.  As  she  drew  nearer,  and  merely  manoeuvred,  and 
made  no  reply  with  her  guns,  Dacres,  somewhat  puzzled, 
inquired  again, cc  What  does  she  mean  P Do  you  think  she  is 
going  to  strike  without  firing  a gun  ? ” “ I guess  not,  sir,” 

replied  the  American  : “ she  will  get  the  position  she 
wants,  and  you  will  then  learn  her  intentions  ; with  your 
permission,  sir,  I will  step  below.” 

The  United  States,  Captain  Decatur,  when  cruising 
off  the  Azores,  gave  chase  to  a British  frigate,  which 
proved  to  be  the  Macedonian.  A running  fight  com- 
menced, which  terminated  by  the  Macedonian  striking  her 
colors,  after  losing  one  hundred  out  of  her  three  hundred 
men,  while  the  United  States  lost  only  five  men  and  seven 
wounded.  The  other  ships  made  several  prizes  on  their 
cruise.  The  Argus  escaped  by  superior  seamanship,  after 
being  chased  three  days  by  six  vessels,  and  took  and 
manned  a prize  during  the  chase.  The  Wasp,  Captain 
Jones,  met  the  British  brig  Frolic,  acting  as  a convoy  for 
six  merchantmen  ; to  protect  them  she  shortened  sail  and 
offered  battle.  The  Wasp  watched  her  opportunity, 
raked  her  antagonist,  and  then  immediately  boarded.  The 
boarders  found  the  deck  of  the  Frolic  covered  with  the 
slain,  and  only  one  man  unhurt,  who  was  calmly  standing 
at  the  wheel,  and  one  or  two  wounded  officers,  who  threw 
down  their  swords.  Not  twenty  of  the  crew  were  unhurt. 
The  Wasp  had  only  five  killed  and  as  many  wounded. 
But  before  she  could  make  sail,  the  Poictiers  seventy-four 
came  up,  and  took  both  vessels. 

Hull  resigned  the  command  of  the  Constitution,  and 
Bainb ridge  was  appointed  in  his  place.  Off  the  coast  of 
Brazil  the  Constitution  gave  chase  to  a British  frigate, 
the  Java.  The  fight  began  at  the  distance  of  a mile,  and 
was  continued  with  great  spirit,  each  manoeuvring  to  get 
the  advantage.  At  length  they  approached  so  closely  as 


EFFECTS  PRODUCED  BY  THE  NAVAL  VICTORIES. 


641 


to  fight  yard-arm  and  yard-arm.  The  Java’s  masts 
were  shot  away,  and  her  fire  silenced.  The  Constitution 
drew  off  to  repair  her  rigging,  and  then  approached  to 
renew  the  conflict,  which  the  Java  prevented  by  striking 
her  flag.  Nearly  half  of  her  men,  numbering  four  hun- 
dred, were  killed  or  wounded,  while  the  Constitution  had 
only  nine  killed  and  twenty-five  wounded  ; among  the 
latter  was  her  commander.  There  being  no  friendly  port 
in  that  part  of  the  world  to  which  he  could  take  his  prize, 
Bainbridge  ordered  her  to  be  set  on  fire  and  blown  up. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  exultation  with  which 
these  victories  were  hailed  in  the  United  States.  The 
very  great  disparity  in  the  losses  sustained  by  the  respect- 
ive combatants  had  excited  surprise  in  both  nations. 
The  English  loss  of  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  compared 
with  that  of  the  Americans,  was  as  eight  to  one.  There 
could  be  no  doubt  but  the  ships  of  the  latter  had  been 
better  managed  and  better  fought.  The  English  people, 
we  learn  from  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  were  deeply  mor- 
tified at  the  loss  of  their  frigates.  One  of  the  papers  asked, 
“ Shall  England,  the  mistress  of  the  seas  and  dictator  of 
the  maritime  law  of  nations,  be  driven  from  her  proud 
eminence  by  a piece  of  striped  bunting  flying  at  the  mast- 
heads of  a few  fir-built  frigates,  manned  by  a handful  of 
bastards  and  outlaws  ? ” Some  were  thus  abusive,  but 
others  were  more  respectful,  and  even  found  consolation  in 
the  fact  that  the  Americans  were  the  descendants  of 
Englishmen.  Says  the  London  Times  : “We  witnessed 
the  gloom  which  that  event  (the  capture  of  the  Guerri&re) 
cast  over  high  and  honorable  minds  ; it  is  not  merely  that 
an  English  frigate  has  been  taken  after  a brave  resistance, 
but  it  has  been  by  a new  enemy.”  And  apprehensions 
were  expressed  that  their  maritime  superiority  was  about 
to  be  challenged,  if  not  taken  away,  by  this  new  rival, 
which  had  so  suddenly  sprung  into  existence.  “ The 
mourning  for  this  last  most  affecting  event,  (the  capture 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 


1813. 


Jan. 

1. 


642 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLI1I. 


1813. 


of  the  Java,)  can  never  be  laid  aside  till  the  honoi 
of  the  British  flag  shall  he  redeemed,  by  establishing 
the  same  triumphant  superiority  over  the  Americans 
that  we  have  heretofore  had  over  all  the  nations  that  tra- 
verse the  seas.  Five  hundred  British  vessels  and  three 
frigates  have  been  captured  in  seyen  months  by  the 
Americans.  Can  the  English  people  hear  this  unmoved  ? 
Down  to  this  moment  not  an  American  frigate  has  struck 
her  flag.  They  insult  and  laugh  at  us  ; they  leave  their 
ports  when  they  please  ; and  return  when  it  suits  their 
convenience  ; they  traverse  the  Atlantic  ; they  beset  the 
West  India  Islands  ; they  advance  to  the  very  chops  oi 
the  Channel  ; they  parade  along  the  coast  of  South 
America  ; nothing  chases,  nothing  intercepts,  nothing 
engages  them,  but  yields  to  them  a triumph.” 

To  account  for  these  unexampled  victories,  some  said 
the  American  frigates  were  Seventy-fours  in  disguise  ; 
others  that  their  guns  were  heavier  than  those  of  their  op- 
ponents. The  latter  supposition  may  have  been  true  to 
some  extent.  But  national  self-complacency  found  more 
consolation  in  the  conjecture,  that  the  spirit  of  the  Ameri- 
can navy  ought  to  he  imputed  to  the  few  runaway  British 
sailors  enlisted  in  it  ! 

The  American  privateers  maintained  the  honor  of  the 
nation  as  much  as  the  regular  navy.  Much  more  would 
have  been  accomplished,  but  the  majority  of  the  mer- 
chants were  loth  to  send  privateers  to  prey  upon  the  prop- 
erty of  their  commercial  friends  and  correspondents.  As 
it  was,  more  than  three  hundred  prizes  were  taken,  three 
thousand  prisoners,  and  a vast  amount  of  merchandise 

Changes  were  made  in  the  President's  cabinet.  Gen- 
eral John  Armstrong — the  author  of  the  famous  Anony- 
mous Address,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution — was  ap- 
pointed Secretary  of  War  in  place  of  William  Eustis,  of 
Massachusetts,  resigned.  James  Monroe  still  remained 


THE  ARMIES — THE  DISASTER  AT  THE  RAISIN. 


643 


at  the  head  of  the  State  Department,  and  Albert  Galla- 
tin at  that  of  the  Treasury,  an  office  which  he  held  under 
*J  efferson. 

The  surrender  of  Hull  aroused  the  warlike  spirit  of  the 
West,  and  volunteers  presented  themselves  in  great  num- 
bers. The  Americans  were  divided  into  three  armies. 
That  of  the  west,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Erie,  under  General 
Harrison  ; that  of  the  centre,  between  Lakes  Erie  and 
Ontario,  under  General  Dearborn,  and  that  of  the  north 
in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Champlain,  under  General  Wade 
Hampton.  A similar  arrangement  was  made  by  the 
British.  Sir  George  Prevost  was  in  chief  command  of 
the  forces  in  Canada,  General  Proctor  commanded  the 
troops  stationed  near  Detroit,  and  General  Sheafe  those 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Montreal  and  the  Sorel  river. 

To  recover  what  Hull  had  lost,  Harrison  moved  toward 
Detroit  and  Malden  ; meantime  General  Winchester  ad- 
vanced with  eight  hundred  volunteers,  chiefly  young  men 
from  Kentucky.  That  State  swarmed  with  soldiers, 
drawn  from  every  rank  in  society.  As  he  drew  near  the 
Maumee  Rapids,  Winchester  learned  that  a body  of  Brit- 
ish and  Indians  was  in  possession  of  Erenchtown,  on  the 
river  Raisin.  He  sent  a detachment,  which  routed  the 
enemy,  and  maintained  its  position  until  he  himself  came 
up.  When  General  Proctor  learned  of  the  approach  of 
Winchester,  he  hastened  across  the  lake  on  the  ice  from 
Malden,  with  fifteen  hundred  British  and  Indians,  to  cut 
him  off,  before  Harrison  could  give  aid.  The  attack  was 
made  on  the  American  camp  before  daylight.  In  the 
midst  of  the  confusion  Winchester  was  taken  prisoner. 
Proctor  promised  him  security  for  the  safety  of  his  men, 
and  thus  induced  him  to  surrender  them  as  prisoners. 
Fearing  the  approach  of  Harrison,  Proctor  retreated  as 
rapidly  as  possible  to  Malden,  and  in  violation  of  his 
pledges,  he  left  the  wounded  Americans. 

The  Indians  turned  back  and  murdered  great  numbers 


CHAP 

XL1II. 


1813 


Jan 

22. 


644 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  0f  them,  and  carried  the  remainder  to  Detroit  : for  some 

of  these  they  demanded  enormous  ransoms,  and  others 

1813.  they  reserved  for  tortures.  The  conduct  of  Proctor,  in 
thus  breaking  his  word,  and  violating  the  principles  ol 
common  humanity,  excited  against  the  enemy  the  bitterest 
feelings  of  revenge.  u Remember  the  Raisin  ! ” became 
the  war-cry  of  the  Kentuckians. 

Harrison  advanced  to  the  rapids,  and  there  established 
a post,  which  in  honor  of  the  Governor  of  Ohio,  he  named 
Fort  Meigs.  There  he  was  besieged,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  months,  by  a large  force  of  British  and  their  Indian 
allies.  Learning  that  General  Green  Clay,  of  Kentucky, 
was  descending  the  Maumee  with  twelve  hundred  men  in 
boats,  Harrison  sent  orders  for  half  the  men  to  land  and 
seize  the  enemy's  batteries  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
spike  their  guns,  and  then  come  to  the  Fort,  whence  a 
sortie  was  to  be  made  against  the  main  batteries  on  the 
south  side.  The  first  order  was  fulfilled,  and  the  British 
routed  ; but  instead  of  hastening  to  the  Fort,  the  Ken- 
tuckians became  unmanageable,  and  pursued  a few  In- 
dians, who  led  them  into  an  ambuscade  prepared  by  the 
cunning  Tecumseh.  They  were  in  turn  routed  by  the 
Indians  and  a detachment  of  British  soldiers,  and  of  the 
Kentuckians  only  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  escaped. 
Nevertheless  Proctor  was  alarmed  ; the  force  of  the  Ameri- 
cans was  unknown,  and  as  the  Indians  began  to  desert, 
May.  he  commenced  a hurried  retreat  across  the  lake  to  Malden, 
Two  months  after,  Proctor  again  appeared  before  Fort 
Meigs,  now  under  the  command  of  Clay.  Not  able  to 
take  it,  and  having  learned  that  Fort  Stephenson,  on  the 
Sandusky,  had  a small  garrison,  Proctor  left  Tecumseh 
with  his  Indians  to  besiege  Fort  Meigs,  while  he  himself 
went  against  Fort  Stephenson.  This  fort  had  a garrison 
of  only  one  hundred  and  sixty  young  men,  commanded 
by  Major  George  Croghan,  a youth  in  his  twenty-second 
year.  When  summoned  to  surrender,  he  replied  that  he 


THE  LOSS  OF  THE  CHESAPEAKE. 


645 


should  defend  the  fort  till  the  last  man  was  buried  in  its  CHAP, 
ruins.  The  siege  commenced,  and  when  a breach  was^|g* — 
made,  the  British  regulars,  at  the  word  of  their  Colonel,  .1£13. 
who  cried  out,  u Come  on,  give  the  Yankees  no  quarter/* 
rushed  to  the  assault.  As  they  crowded  into  the  ditch, 
the  only  cannon  in  the  fort  opened  from  a masked  port 
hole.  The  gun  was  loaded  with  a double  charge  of  musket 
balls  ; the  effect  was  terrific,  the  enemy  fled  in  confusion, 
and  abandoned  the  siege.  The  Indians  at  the  first  repulse 
deserted,  as  usual. 

Meanwhile  there  had  been  other  conflicts  at  sea. 
Captain  James  Lawrence,  in  command  of  the  Hornet,  had 

captured  the  Peacock  off  the  coast  of  South  America.  Feb. 

1 ...  23 

The  ships  were  equal  in  size  and  equipments.  The  action 

lasted  but  fifteen  minutes.  The  Peacock  raised  signals  of 

distress,  for  she  was  sinking  rapidly,  and  in  spite  of  the 

efforts  of  both  crews  she  went  down,  carrying  with  her 

some  of  her  own  men  and  three  of  the  Hornet's.  On  his 

return,  Lawrence  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 

frigate  Chesapeake,  then  in  Boston  harbor,  undergoing 

repairs  and  enlisting  a crew. 

The  British  frigate  Shannon,  Captain  Broke,  had  ap- 
peared off  the  harbor  as  if  offering  a challenge.  The  im- 
petuous Lawrence  put  to  sea,  notwithstanding  the  de- 
ficiency of  his  crew,  some  of  whom  were  muih  dissatisfied 
on  account  of  back  arrearages  of  prize  money  of  a former 
cruise.  The  ship  was  also  deficient  in  officers,  the  first 
lieutenant  being  unable  from  illness  to  go  on  board.  The 
contest  was  witnessed  by  thousands  from  the  hills  and  I11116- 
house  tops.  When  the  ships  met,  the  Chesapeake  be- 
came entangled  with  the  Shannon  in  such  a manner  as  to 
be  exposed  to  a raking  fire.  Lawrence,  mortally  wounded 
at  the  commencement  of  the  battle,  was  carried  below. 

This  created  confusion  for  a few  minutes,  and  Broke 
aoticing  that  the  fire  had  slackened,  promptly  gave  orders 
to  board,  leading  the  men  himself.  The  American 


646 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICA!*  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 


1813. 


boarders  bad  just  been  called,  and  but  few  of  them  wer€ 
yet  upon  deck  ; after  a band  to  band  figbt,  the  Chesa- 
peake's colors  were  hauled  down.  The  captor  sailed  im- 
mediately to  Halifax.  There  Captain  Lawrence  died. 
He  was  buried  with  military  honors  and  marks  of  respect. 
Afterward  his  remains  were  removed  to  New  York.  His 
last  command,  “ Don't  give  up  the  ship,"  has  become  the 
watchword  in  the  American  navy. 

The  rejoicings  in  England  over  the  capture  of  the 
Chesapeake  were  so  great  as  to  become  highly  compli- 
mentary to  the  Americans,  to  whom  they  were  as  gratify- 
ing as  if  the  Shannon  had  been  captured.  It  was  an  um 
equivocal  evidence  of  the  respect  that  the  navy  had  inspired. 

The  same  spirit  which  had  done  so  much  honor  to  the 
nation  on  the  ocean,  displayed  itself  on  the  lakes.  The 
random  incursions  of  undisciplined  volunteers  accom- 
plished nothing  until  the  control  of  the  lakes  was  secured. 
A youthful  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  navy,  Oliver 
Hazard  Perry,  a native  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  volun- 
teered for  that  service.  Commodore  Chauncey  appointed 
him  to  the  command  of  the  fleet  on  Lake  Erie.  After 
much  labor,  Perry  built  and  fitted  out  at  the  port  of  Erie, 
nine  vessels  of  various  sizes,  from  one  carrying  twenty- 
five  guns  down  to  those  which  carried  only  one.  The 
American  fleet  had  altogether  fifty-five  guns  ; the  British 
had  six  vessels  carrying  sixty- three  guns.  The  number 
of  men  was  about  five  hundred  in  each  fleet.  Owing  to 
the  direction  of  the  wind  at  the  commencement  of  the 
battle,  Perry's  flag  ship,  the  Lawrence,  was  exposed  to  the 
concentrated  fire  of  the  enemy's  entire  fleet,  and  in  a short 
time  she  was  made  a complete  wreck.  As  the  wind  in- 
creased, the  remaining  ships  were  enabled  to  come  up. 
Leaping  into  a boat,  and  in  the  midst  of  flying  balls, 
Perry  now  transferred  his  flag,  which  bore  the  motto 
“ Don't  give  up  the  ship,"  to  the  next  largest  vessel,  the 
Niagara.  When  passing  through  the  enemy's  line  he 


BATTLE  OF  THE  THAMES — DEATH  OF  TECUMSEH 


647 


poured  in  broadsides,  right  and  left,  within  pistol-shot.  The 
other  American  vessels  closed,  and  in  less  than  an  hour 
every  British  ship  had  surrendered.  The  hero  announced 
the  result  to  General  Harrison,  in  the  memorable  despatch, 
“ We  have  met  the  enemy  and  they  are  ours.” 

Harrison  hastened  to  profit  by  the  victory,  and  to  lead 
his  men  against  Detroit  and  Malden.  The  fleet  carried  a 
portion  of  the  troops  across  the  lake,  but  they  found 
Malden  deserted.  Proctor  and  Tecumseh  had  destroyed 
their  military  stores,  and  taken  with  them  the  horses  and 
cattle  in  the  neighborhood,  and  were  now  in  full  retreat 
toward  the  Moravian  town,  on  the  Thames.  At  Detroit 
Harrison  was  unexpectedly  reinforced  by  about  thirty-five 
hundred  mounted  Kentuckians,  under  the  venerable  Gov- 
ernor Shelby,  one  of  the  heroes  of  King’s  Mountain,  and 
Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson.  The  pursuit  now  com- 
menced in  earnest.  After  a forced  march  of  sixty  miles, 
they  overtook  the  enemy.  A desperate  encounter  took 
place  ; nearly  all  Proctor’s  men  were  either  taken  or  slain, 
he  himself  barely  escaping  with  about  two  hundred  dra- 
goons. The  Indians  fought  furiously  when  cheered  on  by 
Tecumseh,  but  when  he  fell,  it  is  said  by  a pistol  ball 
fired  by  Colonel  Johnson  himself,  they  broke  and  fled. 
With  the  life  of  the  great  savage  planner  ended  Indian 
hostilities  in  that  part  of  the  frontier.  The  Kentuckians 
returned  home  in  triumph.  Leaving  Colonel  Lewis  Cass, 
who  was  soon  after  appointed  Governor  of  Michigan,  to 
garrison  Detroit  with  his  brigade,  Harrison  embarked  with 
thirteen  hundred  regulars  for  Buffalo,  to  assist  in  the 
cherished  project  of  conquering  Canada. 

Military  enthusiasm  was  not  confined  to  Kentucky 
and  the  region  north  of  the  Ohio.  In  answer  to  a call  to 
defend  New  Orleans,  volunteers  in  great  numbers  assembled 
at  Nashville,  Tennessee.  General  Andrew  Jackson  was 
their  chosen  commander. 


CHAP. 

XL11I. 


1813. 


Sept. 

10. 


Oct 

5. 


648 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 


1813 


1780. 


Jackson  was  a native  of'  North  Carolina,  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent  ; left  fatherless  at  an  early  age  : — his  mother 
the  descendant  of  a Scotch  Covenanter,  a woman  of 
great  energy,  and  of  a daring  spirit,  but  softened  and  sub- 
dued by  religious  principle  and  humane  sympathy.  F rom 
her  be  inherited  a hatred  of  oppression,  and  an  indomi- 
table will  that  never  failed  to  triumph.  At  the  age  of 
thirteen — in  Revolutionary  times — he  began  his  career  un- 
der General  Sumter  at  the  skirmish  of  Hanging  Rock. 
His  eldest  brother  had  already  fallen  in  battle,  and  here,  in 
company  with  the  brother  next  in  age,  he  fought  valiantly. 
Their  home  broken  up  and  pillaged,  the  mother  and  her 
two  sons  became  exiles  from  their  own  fireside.  Soon 
after  the  sons,  through  the  plottings  of  Tories,  were  made 
prisoners.  The  next  day  a British  officer  ordered  Andrew 
to  clean  his  boots,  but  the  young  hero  indignantly  refused 
to  perform  the  menial  service,  and  steadily  persisted, 
though  his  life  was  threatened  and  the  officer  struck  him 
with  the  flat  of  his  sword. 

The  heroic  mother  at  length  obtained  the  exchange  of 
her  sons,  but  only  in  a short  time  to  follow  to  the  grave 
the  elder,  who  died  of  small-pox,  which  both  the  brothers 
had  contracted  during  their  captivity. 

The  next  year  the  mother,  with  some  other  ladies, 
travelled  more  than  one  hundred  miles  to  minister  to  the 
wants  of  the  unfortunate  patriots,  her  neighbors,  who  were 
confined  as  prisoners  on  board  of  loathsome  prison  ships 
in  the  harbor  of  Charleston.  Enfeebled  by  her  labors  of 
love,  she  contracted  the  fever  then  raging  among  the 
prisoners  and  speedily  passed  away.  Thus  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  Jackson  was  left  without  a relative  in  his  native 
land.  Scarcely  has  it  ever  fallen  to  the  lot  of  a youth  to 
experience  a series  of  such  harrowing  misfortunes.  Though 
young  in  years  these  trials  had  their  effect ; they  gave  him 
the  maturity  of  manhood  ; they  strengthened  the  decision 
of  character,  which  so  marked  his  life.  To  his  friends 


Jackson’s  expedition  to  natchez. 


649 


generous  to  a fault,  yet  he  never  suffered  his  will  to  be  chap, 

successfully  resisted  ; not  from  stubbornness — that  strong-  

bold  of  little  minds — but  from  bis  impression  of  right.  1796 

He  early  emigrated  to  Tennessee,  then  a territory,  and 
was  the  first  representative  from  that  State  in  the  House. 

He  was  then  described  by  a contemporary,  u as  having 
been  a tall,  lank,  uncouth-looking  personage,  with  long 
locks  of  hair  hanging  over  his  face,  and  a cue  down  his 
back  tied  in  an  eel-skin  ; his  dress  singular,  his  manners 
and  deportment  that  of  a rough  backwoodsman.  Ho  eye 
among  his  associates  was  prophetic  enough,  under  that 
rude  aspect,  to  recognize  or  imagine  the  future  General 
and  President.1 

New  Orleans  was  almost  defenceless  ; the  same  mis-  1813 
taken  economy  we  have  seen  elsewhere,  had  been  exercised 
here.  There  were  only  sixteen  hundred  men  in  the  gar- 
rison, scarcely  any  ammunition,  and  no  means  of  con- 
veyance. Though  without  authority  from  the  War  De- 
partment, General  Wilkinson — the  same  who  in  the  days 
of  the  Revolution  was  one  of  the  aids  of  General  Gates, — 
had  taken  measures  to  survey  all  the  water  passages  to 
the  Gulf,  and  partially  repair  their  fortifications. 

This  expedition  from  Tennessee  had  a singular  termi- 
nation. The  infantry,  in  number  sixteen  hundred,  floated 
in  flat-boats  down  the  Cumberland,  the  Ohio  and  the 
Mississippi  to  Natchez,  where  they  were  joined  by  four 
hundred  horsemen,  who  had  marched  across  the  country. 
Armstrong,  the  Secretary  of  War,  sent  orders  to  Jackson,  Fob 
who  had  been  refused  a commission  in  the  regular  army, 
to  disband  his  men  at  Natchez,  and  deliver  his  military 
stores  to  General  Wilkinson.  To  implicitly  obey  orders 
which  he  did  not  approve  was  not  one  of  the  virtues  of 
Andrew  Jackson.  Suspecting  that  this  order  was  a pre- 
text to  get  rid  of  the  volunteers  without  paying  thebr 


1 Hildreth,  vol.  iv.,  p.  692. 


650 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  wages,  lie  positively  refused  to  obey.  Indignant  at  the 

wrong  done  the  men,  he  unceremoniously  drove  out  of  the 

1813.  camp  the  United  States  recruiting  officers,  who  had  come, 
hoping  to  induce  those  volunteers  to  enlist  in  the  regular 
army,  who  had  not  the  funds  to  return  home.  On  his  own 
responsibility,  Jackson  provided  conveyances  for  the  sick, 
and  marched  the  whole  force  back  to  Nashville,  and  there 
disbanded  them.  The  War  Department  overlooked  the  in- 
subordination, and  quietly  paid  the  bill. 

The  military  operations  on  the  northern  frontier  con- 
linued  as  unimportant,  as  they  were  inefficient  in  bringing 
Great  Britain  to  terms.  To  secure  the  control  of  Lake 
Ontario  it  was  necessary  to  destroy  or  capture  the  ships 
and  military  stores  at  York,  now  Toronto,  then  the  capi- 
April,  tal  of  Upper  Canada,  and  the  head-quarters  of  General 
Sheafe.  When  the  spring  opened,  Commodore  Chaunc^y 
sailed  with  sixteen  hundred  men  on  board  his  fleet.  They 
landed  a short  distance  from  the  town,  Lieutenant  Scott, 
who  had  recently  been  exchanged,  leading  the  van.  General 
Pike  led  the  troops  to  the  assault.  The  retreating  British 
fired  a magazine,  which  exploded  with  tremendous  power, 
overwhelmed  the  advancing  Americans,  and  killed  and 
wounded  more  than  two  hundred  of  their  number,  among 
whom  was  the  gallant  Pike,  who  died  the  next  day.  The 
town  surrendered,  and  the  contents  of  another  magazine 
were  transferred  to  Sackett’s  Harbor. 

Just  before  the  Americans  embarked,  a little  one 
story  building,  known  as  the  Parliament  House,  was 
burned.  The  British  attributed  the  act  to  them,  but 
General  Dearborn  and  his  officers  believed  it  was  set  on 
fire  by  the  disaffected  Canadians,  as  they  had  threatened 
to  burn  it. 

Major  Grafton  certified  that  no  American  could  have 
committed  the  deed  without  his  knowledge,  as  he  had  the 
command  of  the  patrol  in  the  vicinity  of  the  House.  The 


PRIVATE  RESENTMENTS ANOTHER  FAILURE. 


651 


Canadian  Chief  Justice  of  the  district,  in  a communication, 
spoke  of  the  humane  conduct  of  the  Americans,  “ which 
entitled  them  to  the  gratitude  of  the  people  of  York.” 
Yet  retaliation,  for  the  burning  of  this  building,  was  the 
excuse  offered  afterward  for  the  wanton  destruction  and 
pillaging  of  the  public  buildings  at  Washington. 

During  the  summer  occurred  a number  of  failures,  all 
traceable  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  commanders.  Finally 
certain  members  of  Congress  informally  requested  the 
President,  through  secretary  Monroe,  to  recall  Dearborn 
from  the  command.  Accordingly  Wilkinson  was  trans- 
ferred from  New  Orleans  to  the  northern  frontier.  General 
Wade  Hampton,  recently  in  command  at  Norfolk,  was  also 
appointed  to  the  command  of  a division  ; hut  as  he  and 
Wilkinson  were  not  on  friendly  terms,  he  accepted  the 
office  only  on  condition  that  he  should  not  he  placed 
under  the  command  of  the  latter.  That  patriotism  which 
would  overlook  private  resentment  for  the  good  of  the 
country  must  be  sacrificed  to  the  personal  enmities  of  these 
gentlemen.  Hoping  to  remove  the  difficulty,  Armstrong, 
the  Secretary  of  War,  suddenly  appeared  on  the  ground, 
and  assumed  the  chief  command  himself ; but  he  and 
Wilkinson  could  not  agree  on  a plan  of  operations.  After 
refusing  to  accept  the  proffered  resignation  of  Wilkinson, 
who  did  not  relish  the  uncalled-for  interference,  the  Secre- 
tary returned  to  his  more  appropriate  duties  at  Washington. 

Another  futile  attempt  was  made  to  conquer  Canada. 
General  Wilkinson  moved  his  army  from  Sackett's  Har- 
bor, toward  Montreal  ; in  the  mean  time  General  Hamp- 
ton was  advancing  up  from  Lake  Champlain.  The  two 
American  armies  if  united  would  number  twelve  thousand 
men,  while  the  whole  British  force  was  about  two  thou- 
sand, and  these  mostly  militia.  Wilkinson  wrote  to 
Hampton,  in  Armstrong's  name,  to  join  him  at  St.  Regis, 
but  instead  of  co-operating,  Hampton  replied  that  he  had 
given  up  the  expedition  and  was  already  on  his  return  to 


CHAP 

XLIII. 


1813. 


May 


652 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 


1813. 

Nov. 

13. 


Dec. 

20. 


June. 


winter-quarters.  Under  these  circumstances,  Wilkinson 
found  it  necessary  to  retreat,  as  the  season  would  he  too 
far  advanced  before  he  could  obtain  the  provisions  and 
aid  which  Hampton  had  failed  to  supply.  During  the 
previous  summer  there  had  been  on  the  lake,  as  well  as  on 
its  shores,  several  expeditions  as  unimportant  in  them* 
selves  as  they  were  trifling  in  their  results. 

When  General  Harrison,  who  soon  after  resigned  his 
commission,  retired,  he  left  a General  McClure  in  com- 
mand at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario.  Presently  McClure 
found  himself  with  only  a few  regular  troops,  as  the  militia 
under  his  command  were  returning  home  ; their  term  of 
enlistments  had  expired.  Not  prepared  to  resist  the  ad- 
vancing British,  he  was  forced  to  retire  across  the  river  to 
the  American  side.  Before  leaving  he  destroyed  Fort 
George,  and  set  on  fire  the  village  of  Newark,  lest  the 
enemy,  as  he  said,  should  find  comfortable  winter-quarters. 
McClure  gave  as  his  excuse  for  thus  burning  the  homes, 
and  turning  four  hundred  inoffensive  people,  men,  women, 
and  children,  out  into  the  winter's  storms,  that  he  thought 
he  was  justified  by  the  orders  of  the  War  Department 
In  truth  there  was  no  excuse  for  the  cruel  and  wanton 
act.  Evil  begets  evil.  Ten  days  after,  the  enemy  passed 
over  to  the  American  side,  surprised  Fort  Niagara,  and 
put  the  garrison  to  the  sword.  Then  commenced  the 
retaliation  for  the  burning  of  Newark.  They  burned 
Lewistown,  Youngstown,  Manchester,  Black  Rock,  and 
Buffalo,  and  indeed  every  house  that  could  be  reached 
from  Lake  Ontario  to  Erie.  Prevost  issued  immediately 
after  a proclamation,  in  which  he  stated  that  these  rav- 
ages were  provoked  by  the  burning  of  Newark,  and  if  the 
Americans  would  hereafter  refrain  from  such  outrages,  he 
should  conduct  the  war  on  humane  and  civilized  principles. 

During  the  summer  the  whole  American  coast  was 
blockaded  by  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  British  fleet. 
The  Hornet,  the  frigates  United  States  and  Macedonian, 


BRITISH  ARMED  VESSELS  IN  THE  CHESAPEAKE. 


653 


were  shut  up  in  the  harbor  of  New  London.  The  harbor  chap. 

of  New  York,  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake  bays,  the  

harbors  of  Charleston  and  Savannah,  the  mouth  of  the  1813. 
Mississippi,  were  all  blockaded.  In  the  Chesapeake  alone 
there  were  more  than  twenty  British  armed  vessels,  on 
board  of  which  were  three  or  four  thousand  land  troops. 

These  frequently  landed  and  pillaged  the  towns,  and  in 
some  instances  committed  outrages  upon  the  inhabitants, 
especially  at  Hampton,  a small  village  cn  James  river. 

The  infamy  of  conducting  these  marauding  expeditions 
belongs  to  Vice-Admiral  Cockburn,  whose  conduct  was 
more  in  accordance  with  the  brutality  of  a savage,  than 
with  the  humanity  of  an  officer  of  a Christian  nation. 

These  marauders  were  well  characterized  by  the  term, 

“ Water  Winnebagoes.” 

The  war  was  not  confined  to  the  northern  frontier. 

The  untiring  Tecumseh  had  visited  the  Creeks  the  pre- 
vious year,  and  inspired  them,  especially  their  young  war- 
riors, with  his  views.  The  Creeks  occupied  the  greater 
portion  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Alabama,  and  a por- 
tion of  south-western  Georgia.  Numbers  of  the  tribe  had 
become  partially  civilized,  living  upon  the  products  of 
their  fields  and  their  herds.  The  nation  was  divided  in 
opinion.  The  intelligent  and  wealthy  portion  were  in 
favor  of  peace,  while  the  ignorant  and  poor  were  in  favor 
of  war.  The  one  party  saw  in  a war  with  the  United 
States,  the  utter  ruin  of  their  nation  ; the  other  a return 
to  their  ancient  customs,  and  a perfect  independence  of 
the  white  man.  The  settlers  blindly  neglected  the  re- 
peated warnings  given  of  these  hostile  intentions.  When 
suddenly  Wetherford,  a celebrated  half-breed  chief,  sur- 
rounded Fort  Mimms,  on  the  lower  Alabama,  and  put  to 
death  nearly  three  hundred  persons,  men,  women,  and 
children.  The  South  was  speedily  roused,  and  soon  about 
seven  thousand  volunteers  were  on  their  march  in  four 


654 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 


1813. 

Dec. 


1814. 


Mar. 

28. 


divisions,  to  penetrate  the  enemy’s  country,  from  as  manj 
points,  and  to  meet  in  the  centre. 

General  Jackson,  with  his  recent  Natchez  volunteers, 
moved  from  Nashville  ; from  East  Tennessee,  another 
division,  under  General  Cocke  ; one  from  Georgia,  and 
one  from  the  Mississippi  Territory.  In  addition  the 
lower  Creeks  took  up  arms  against  their  brethren  ; and 
also  Cherokees  and  Choctaws  joined  in  the  expedition.  A 
series  of  attacks  commenced  upon  the  savage  enemy. 
The  Creeks  were  defeated  in  every  conflict  ; cut  down 
without  mercy,  their  warriors  disdaining  to  ask  for  their 
lives.  The  divisions  penetrated  the  country  from  different 
points,  and  drove  them  from  place  to  place.  In  this  last 
struggle  for  their  homes  they  were  overwhelmed,  but  not 
conquered.  Thus  the  war  continued  for  some  months, 
when  the  greater  portion  of  the  volunteers  returned  home. 
Jackson  was  compelled  to  suspend  offensive  operations 
till  reinforcements  should  arrive.  At  length  they  came, 
and  he  went  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  On  a peninsula 
formed  by  a peculiar  bend  in  the  Tallapoosa  river,  known  as 
Emuchfau,  or  the  Horse-shoe,  the  Indians  made  their  last 
stand.  They  fortified  the  neck  of  the  peninsula,  as  much 
as  their  rude  materials  would  permit.  Thither  they  trans- 
ferred their  wives  and  children,  in  whose  defence  they 
resolved  to  die,  and  there  in  gloomy  silence  they  awaited 
the  attack. 

The  assault  was  made  on  the  breastwork,  which,  after 
five  hours’  fighting,  was  carried.  Nearly  six  hundred  of 
the  warriors  perished,  and  the  women  and  children  were 
taken  prisoners.  Thus,  after  a campaign  of  six  months, 
the  power  of  the  Creeks  was  broken,  and  with  it 
their  spirit  was  crushed.  The  warriors  who  were  yet 
living,  began  to  give  themselves  up  to  the  conquerors.  A 
noble-looking  chief  suddenly,  at  the  hour  of  midnight,  pre- 
sented himself  to  Jackson.  “ I fought  at  Fort  Mimms  ; 
I fought  th  > army  of  Georgia,”  said  he  ; u I did  you  all 


THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  ESSEX. 


655 


the  harm  I could.  Had  I been  supported  as  I was  prom- 
ised, I would  have  done  more.  But  my  warriors  are  kill- 
ed, and  I can  fight  no  longer  ; I look  back  with  sorrow 
that  I have  brought  ruin  upon  my  nation.  I am  now  in 
your  power,  do  with  me  as  you  please  ; I too  am  a war- 
rior.” Such  were  the  words  of  Wetherford,  the  destroyer 
of  Fort  Mimms.  Jackson  could  appreciate  the  man  who 
would  fight  for  his  country  ; though  the  volunteers  mur- 
mured, he  spared  the  life  of  the  chief.  The  General,  so 
stern  in  the  performance  of  duty,  was  not  devoid  of 
humane  sympathy.  When  walking  on  the  field  of  battle 
his  attention  was  arrested  by  the  wail  of  an  Indian  babe. 
He  himself  was  a childless  man,  yet  his  heart  was  touched. 
Ordering  the  infant  to  be  brought  to  the  camp,  he  asked 
the  Indian  women  to  take  care  of  it.  “ Its  mother  is 
dead,  let  it  die  too,”  was  their  reply.  The  General  took 
the  child  himself,  carried  it  to  his  home,  and  reared  it  in 
his  own  family. 

The  Essex,  Captain  Porter,  passed  round  Cape  Horn, 
expecting  to  meet  the  Constitution  in  the  Pacific  ; but  she, 
as  has  already  been  noted,  returned  home  after  the  capture 
of  the  Java.  When  he  arrived  at  Valparaiso,  Porter  was 
gratified  to  be  received  as  a friend.  Chili  had  thrown  off 
her  allegiance  to  Spain,  and  was  no  longer  an  ally  of 
England.  Learning  there  that  the  viceroy  of  Peru  had, 
in  expectation  of  war  between  Spain  and  the  United 
States,  authorized  cruisers  against  American  whalers,  he 
put  to  sea  in  order  to  chastise  these  cruisers,  one  of  whom 
he  captured  and  disarmed.  He  then  went  in  pursuit  of 
the  British  whalers,  who  were  all  armed,  and  carried  com- 
missions from  their  own  government  to  capture  American 
whaling  vessels.  In  a few  months  he  captured  twelve  of 
these  whalers.  Hearing  that  the  British  frigate  Phoebe 
had  been  sent  in  pursuit  of  him,  he  returned  early  in  the 
year  to  Valparaiso,  in  search  of  the  enemy.  Soon  the 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 

1814 


1818 


656 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


CHAP. 

XLIII. 


1814. 


March. 


1816. 
May  8. 


1890. 


Phoebe  appeared,  accompanied  by  the  sloop-of-war  Cherub. 
In  guns  and  men  the  Phoebe  was  a full  match  for  the  Essex. 
The  two  hostile  vessels  took  their  position  off  the  harbor. 
Porter  determined  to  avoid  the  unequal  contest  by  escaping 
to  sea ; but  when  passing  out  of  tlie  harbor  a sudden 
squall  carried  away  his  main-topmast,  and,  as  be  could  not 
return  to  port,  he  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  Phoebe  and 
Cherub.  After  an  encounter,  perhaps  the  most  desperate 
of  any  naval  engagement  during  the  war,  he  was  forced  to 
surrender ; but  he  did  not  strike  his  flag  until  he  had  lost 
the  unusual  number  of  fifty-eight  killed  and  sixty-six 
wTounded.  In  giving  an  account  of  the  affair  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  he  wrote  : “We  have  been  unfortunate, 
but  not  disgraced.” 

Efforts  had  been  made  by  local  societies,  small  and  lim- 
ited in  their  influence,  to  circulate  the  Bible,  but  not  until 
the  formation  of  a large  association,  with  more  means  and 
greater  facilities,  could  much  be  accomplished  in  publishing 
and  distributing  the  Scriptures.  Sixty  delegates,  men  of 
influence  and  representing  thirty-five  of  these  local  associa- 
tions, met  in  New  York  City  and  formed  the  American 
Bible  Society.  During  the  first  year  eighty-four  local 
societies  became  auxiliary  to  it ; now  the  auxiliaries,  direct- 
ly or  indirectly  connected  with  the  Institution,  number 
over  seven  thousand.  During  the  first  year  of  its  exist- 
ence the  members  of  the  British  Bible  Society  sent  it  their 
congratulations  and  a donation  of  twenty-five  hundred  dol- 
lars. The  Society  publishes  the  Bible  without  note  or 
comment,  and  has  the  confidence  of  all  the  Protestant 
denominations.  It  publishes  more  than  two  hundred  varie- 
ties of  the  English  Bible,  and  more  than  one  hundred  and 
forty  varieties  in  other  languages.  Three  several  times 
(1829,  1856,  and  1866)  the  Society,  as  far  as  possible,  has 
supplied  every  family  in  the  Union  destitute  of  the  Bible 
with  a copy. 


CHAPTER  XL  I Y. 

M ADISON’S  ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 


The  Thirteenth  Congress;  its  Members. — Daniel  Webster. — Manifesto  of 
the  British  Governmant. — Embarrassments. — Commissioners  of  Peace 
appointed. — Britain  offers  to  negotiate. — Jacob  Brown. — Winfield 
Scott. — E.  W.  Ripley. — Wilkinson  unsuccessful;  his  Misfortunes. — 

Capture  of  Fort  Erie. — Battle  of  Lundy’s  Lane. — Its  effect. — British 
repulsed  at  Fort  Erie ; their  Batteries  captured. — Battle  on  Lake 
Champlain. — British  marauding  Expeditions  on  the  Shores  of  the 
Chesapeake. — Bladensburg. — Capture  of  Washington. — The  Public 
Buildings  burned. — Defence  of  Fort  McHenry. — Death  of  General 
Ross.— Bombardment  of  Stonington. — Distress  in  New  England. — De- 
bates  in  Congress. — Embargo  and  Non-importation  Act  repealed. — 
Hartford  Convention. 

The  thirteenth  Congress,  in  obedience  to  the  call  of  chap. 

the  President,  met  in  special  session,  some  months  before  . 

the  usual  time.  The  last  census  had  increased  the  num-  1813 
ber  of  Representatives  in  the  House  to  182.  Of  the 
present  members  a greater  proportion  than  in  the  last 
Congress  were  opposed  to  the  war,  and,  indeed,  its  own 
advocates  on  that  subject  were  by  no  means  harmonious 
among  themselves. 

In  this  Gongress,  as  well  as  in  the  last,  appeared  many 
new  men,  whose  influence  was  afterward  greatly  felt,  not 
only  in  their  respective  States,  but  in  moulding  the  future 
policy  of  the  nation  itself.  Am  ong  these  were  John  F orsyth 
of  Georgia,  William  Gaston  of  North  Carolina,  John 
McLean  of  Ohio,  and  Daniel  Webster  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, who  now  commenced  that  career  so  marked  in  oui 


658 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap  national  councils.  Born  on  the  frontiers  of  that  State,  his 

. 1 privileges  were  limited.  The  quiet,  thoughtful  hoy,  fond 

1813.  of  books,  read  all  within  his  reach.  His  father,  a man  of 
strong  sense  and  sterling  integrity  ; his  mother,  a woman 
of  more  than  ordinary  intellect  and  force  of  character  ; to 
their  judicious  guidance  may  be  traced  the  best  elements 
of  his  education.  The  father  noticed  his  expanding  in- 
tellect, the  calm  power  of  mind  that  intuitively  grasped 
thoughts  far  beyond  his  years.  H»s  resolution  was  taken  ; 
though  very  limited  in  means,  he  must  educate  his  son. 
At  length  he  informed  Daniel  of  his  determination  to 
sen!  him  to  college.  At  this  first  intimation  that  the 
dreams  which  had  been  floating  before  his  imagination 
were  to  be  realized,  the  boy's  emotions  were  too  deep  for 
utterance  ; he  threw  himself  upon  his  lather's  neck  and 
wept  for  joy. 

In  Congress  stirring  debates  ensued.  Not  only  was 
the  policy  of  the  war  severely  criticized,  but  the  manner  in 
which  it  had  been  conducted.  Its  advocates  were  sur- 
rounded with  difficulties  ; the  means  to  carry  it  on  were 
exhausted  ; the  revenue  derived  from  commerce  had 
dwindled  to  one  million,  with  a prospect  of  still  greater 
reduction  ; enormous  bounties  were  offered  to  obtain  re- 
cruits for  the  army,  but  very  few  enlisted.  The  clashing 
of  opinions  on  the  subject  had  arrayed  the  people  definitely 
on  one  side  or  the  other. 

jan.  The  British  government  issued  to  the  world  a mani- 
festo, in  which  certain  charges  industriously  circulated  in 
the  United  States  were  utterly  denied — such  as  that 
they  had  instigated  the  Indians  to  hostilities,  or  that 
they  had  endeavored  to  seduce  the  people  of  the  Eastern 
States  from  the  Union  ; but  on  the  contrary,  they  protested 
that  the  English  people  were  actuated  by  a spirit  of  for- 
bearance, and  were  truly  desirous  to  be  at  peace  and 
amity  with  the  people  of  the  United  States.  As  to  the 
question  of  search,  they  were  unwilling  to  give  up  the 


THE  WAR  UNPOPULAR  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 


659 


right  to  recover  their  deserting  seamen,  unless  the  United  chap, 

States  would  remove  the  necessity  for  impressments,  by  

enacting  laws  forbidding  British  sailors  to  enlist  in  the  1813 
American  service.  This  document  had  a great  effect  in 
influencing  the  minds  of  the  people  in  England,  as  well 
as  upon  those  in  the  United  States. 

The  disasters  of  the  last  campaign,  and  the  want  of 
money,  a sufficiency  of  which  could  not  be  obtained  by 
loans,  were  not  as  embarrassing  to  the  government,  as  the 
opposition  to  the  war  which  prevailed  in  the  New  Eng- 
land States.  The  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  sent  a 
remonstrance  to  Congress.  They  denounced  the  war  as 
unreasonable,  for  Great  Britain  had  repealed  the  obnoxious 
Orders  in  Council,  and  also  offered  to  negotiate  in  relation 
to  impressments.  Undue  influences  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation  had  led  to  measures  opposed  to  their  interests,  and 
had  brought  ruin  upon  them  by  war.  It  was  a duty  to 
their  constituents  to  make  this  remonstrance.  They  ap- 
pealed to  the  Searcher  of  hearts  for  the  purity  of  their 
motives,  and  their  devotion  to  their  country. 

The  people  of  New  England  complained  that  for  the 
last  twelve  years,  their  influence  in  the  national  govern- 
ment had  not  been  in  proportion  to  their  population,  in- 
telligence and  wealth, — that  their  best  and  ablest  men 
had  been  designedly  excluded  from  positions  of  influence 
in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 

In  less  than  a year  after  the  declaration  of  war,  Presi-  5^ 
dent  Madison,  influenced  by  an  offer  of  mediation  on  the 
part  of  Russia,  appointed  Albert  Gallatin,  his  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury,  and  James  A.  Bayard,  commissioners  to  nego- 
tiate a peace.  They  were  to  act  in  concert  with  John 
Quincy  Adams,  then  minister  at  the  court  of  St.  Peters- 
burg. The  offered  mediation  by  Russia  was  declined  by 
England ; and  nothing  was  accomplished  by  the  com- 
missioners. Nearly  a year  afterward,  the  British  govern- 
ment made  a direct  overture  to  treat  of  peace,  either  at 


660 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  AMEEICAX  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIY. 


1814. 

Jan. 

14. 


London  or  at  Gottenburg  in  Sweden.  This  offer  wa? 
made  in  the  face  of  the  ultimate  downfall  of  Bonaparte^ 
who  had  just  been  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Leipsic.  The 
President  gladly  accepted  the  offer,  though  he  complained 
that  the  English  government  had  rejected  the  mediatioi? 
of  Russia,  which  had  been  offered  three  several  times. 
Accordingly,  Henry  Clay  and  Jonathan  Russell,  recently 
minister  to  England,  were  appointed  additional  commis- 
sioners of  peace.  In  a month's  time,  they  had  received 
their  instructions,  and  were  on  their  way  to  Europe. 

These  instructions  took  decided  ground  on  the  im- 
pressment question.  u That  degrading  practice  must  cease/' 
said  they.  “ Our  flag  must  protect  the  crew,  or  the  United 
States  cannot  consider  themselves  an  independent  nation." 
Yet  the  promise  was  quietly  made  to  enact  a law  for- 
bidding the  enlistment  of  British  sailors,  either  in  the 
United  States  navy  or  in  the  mercantile  service.  Still 
more,  the  commissioners  were  privately  authorized  “ to  go 
further,  to  prevent  a possibility  of  failure."  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  this  was  the  very  law  or  assurance  in 
effect,  that  Britain  asked  of  Congress,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war. 

Engrossed  with  the  affairs  of  Europe,  England  as  yet 
could  spare  but  few  men  or  ships  for  the  American 
war.  Bonaparte  having  abdicated  and  retired  to  Elba, 
she  had  on  her  hands  a large  veteran  army  unemployed. 
Of  this  army,  fourteen  thousand  soldiers  were  sent  to 
Canada,  while  other  portions  were  sent  to  different  places 
in  the  United  States.  This  acquisition  changed  the  face 
of  affairs  on  the  northern  frontier. 

The  failures  in  that  quarter,  had  thrown  the  adminis- 
tration at  Washington  into  despair.  The  soldiers  had 
but  little  confidence  in  officers,  who  were  continually 
quarrelling  with  each  other,  and  never  acting  in  concert, 
and  this  favorite  measure  was  about  to  be  given  up,  from 
sheer  want  of  proper  persons  to  lead  the  enterprise.  New 


NEW  MEN  ON  THE  STAGE. 


661 


men  were  coming  on  the  stage.  The  most  promising  of  ^ap. 

these  was  Colonel  J acob  Brown,  a Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  . 

a Quaker  by  descent,  who,  when  a school  teacher  in  the  2814- 
city  of  New  York,  attracted  the  attention  of  Hamilton, 
who  made  him  his  military  secretary  in  the  army  of  1798. 

Brown  subsequently  removed  to  the  northern  part  of  New 
York  State,  and  there,  in  his  defence  of  Ogdensburg,  as 
well  as  on  other  occasions,  exhibited  military  talents  of  a 
high  order.  There  was  another  youthful  hero,  destined  to 
fill  an  honorable  space  in  the  military  annals  of  his  country. 
Winfield  Scott,  a native  of  Virginia,  originally  bred  for 
the  bar  ; he  also  belonged  to  the  army  of  ’98.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  war  he  raised  and  commanded  a 
company  of  volunteers.  To  these  may  be  added  Eleazar 
W.  Kipley,  of  Maine,  who  possessed  talents  of  a high  order. 

These  young  and  enthusiastic  officers  believed  that  if 
the  Americans  were  drilled,  and  led  by  commanders  in 
whom  they  had  confidence,  they  would  meet  the  British 
regulars  without  fear  for  the  result.  Owing  to  their 
solicitations,  another  invasion  of  Canada  was  planned. 
Nothing,  however,  was  gained  by  the  effort,  except  th<* 
verification  of  their  theory. 

Early  in  the  spring,  Wilkinson,  who  had  been  ill  for 
months,  moved  with  four  thousand  men,  from  winter 
quarters,  to  repel  a British  detachment.  His  progress  was 
arrested  near  La  Colle,  at  a stone  mill,  held  as  an  outpost.  Mar 
The  single  heavy  cannon  brought  to  batter  down  the  mill, 
sunk  in  the  mire.  An  unusual  thaw  commencing,  flooded 
the  whole  country,  and  opened  Lake  Champlain,  of  which 
the  British  had  control.  The  Americans  were  fain  to  re- 
tire from  the  danger  as  soon  as  possible.  Wilkinson  was 
so  much  abused  and  ridiculed  on  account  of  this  failure, 
that  he  indignantly  resigned,  and  demanded  an  inquiry 
into  his  conduct  by  a court-martial. 

One  year  from  that  time,  he  was  honorably  acquitted 
by  the  court.  But  the  government,  which  he  had  faith- 


662 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP, 

XLIY. 


1814. 


July 

2. 


fully  served  for  forty  years,  on  the  reduction  of  the  army 
after  the  war,  dismissed  him  from  its  service.  Thus  in 
his  old  age  he  experienced  the  hardship  of  being  turned 
upon  the  world  without  a competency.  The  State  of 
Maryland  came  forward,  and  generously  granted  him  a 
pension. 

When  spring  further  opened,  a concentration  of  forces 
on  both  sides  resulted  in  a series  of  movements  and  counter- 
movements accomplishing  nothing  of  importance.  The 
first  point  resolved  upon,  was  to  seize  Burlington  Heights, 
at  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario,  before  aid  could  come  from 
York.  In  the  mean  time,  Commodore  Chauncey  was  to  get 
the  command  of  the  lake. 

Having  obtained  permission  from  the  government, 
General  Brown,  with  thirty-five  hundred  men,  some  reg- 
ulars and  some  volunteers,  passed  in  the  night  from 
Buffalo  to  Canada,  presented  himself  in  the  morning  be- 
fore Fort  Erie,  and  summoned  the  garrison  to  surrender. 
In  the  course  of  the  day,  the  fort  complied. 

The  British  General  Riall,  with  an  army  equal  in 
number  to  that  of  Brown,  was  stationed  behind  the  Chip- 
pewa, distant  fifteen  miles.  Colonel  Scott,  the  next  day, 
led  the  advance  against  the  enemy,  whose  outposts  he 
drove  in  ; the  remainder  of  the  army  came  up  at  midnight. 
Brown  here  gave  an  indication  of  what  he  expected  of  his 
officers  ; he  cashiered  one  of  their  number  for  untimely  re- 
treating in  a skirmish.  On  the  following  day,  Riall  left 
his  intrenchments  and  crossed  the  Chippewa.  The  volun- 
teers could  not  resist  the  attack,  but  fled,  leaving  Scott's 
brigade  exposed.  The  latter  charged  the  advancing  enemy 
with  the  bayonet,  and  forced  them  to  retreat  ; as  they 
passed  the  bridge  they  destroyed  it.  Riall  immediately 
abandoned  his  camp  and  Queenstown,  and  leaving  a strong 
force  in  Fort  George,  retreated  to  a favorable  position 
twelve  miles  distant.  The  British  loss  in  these  engagements 
was  about  five  hundred,  the  American  about  three  hundred 


THE  BATTLE  OF  LUNDY'S  LANE. 


663 


This  first  victory,  after  a fair  trial  of  strength,  was  very 
gratifying  to  the  Americans,  privates  as  well  as  officers. 
Brown  took  possession  of  Queenstown,  hut  found  he  had 
not  the  proper  cannon  to  successfully  attack  Fort  George, 
and  that  the  fleet  could  not  co-operate.  After  maintain- 
ing his  position  three  weeks,  he  fell  back  to  the  Chippewa. 

The  British  were  not  idle.  On  the  very  day  that 
Brown  reached  the  Chippewa,  General  Drummond  ar- 
rived from  York  at  Fort  George,  with  large  reinforce- 
ments, To  prevent  them  from  sending  a detachment  to 
destroy  his  stores  at  Schl  osser,  Brown  made  an  advance 
upon  the  enemy.  Scott  led  his  brigade,  accompanied  by 
the  artillery  commanded  by  Towson.  General  Riall  was 
advancing  in  force  in  an  opposite  direction,  intending  on 
the  following  morning  to  attack  the  Americans.  About 
sunset,  when  directly  opposite  the  falls  of  Niagara,  these 
parties  unexpectedly  met.  The  British  took  position  on 
a rising  ground,  and  there  placed  their  artillery,  consisting 
of  seven  pieces.  These  began  to  play  upon  Scott's  bri- 
gade, while,  because  of  their  position  on  the  hill,  balls 
from  Towson's  guns  could  scarcely  reach  them.  The  loss 
of  the  Americans  was  great,  yet  they  maintained  their 
position,  expecting  Brown  with  the  main  army.  When  it 
was  quite  dark,  he  arrived.  One  of  Scott's  regiments  under 
Major  Jessup  drove  the  Canadian  militia  before  them,  and, 
gaining  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  captured  a number  of 
prisoners,  among  whom  was  General  Riall  himself,  who 
having  been  wounded,  was  retiring.  It  was  seen  that  the 
key  of  the  position  was  the  park  of  artillery  on  the  hill. 
Said  Ripley  to  Colonel  James  Miller  : “ Can  you  take  that 
battery  P " “ I'll  try,  sir,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  Then 

silently  leading  his  regiment,  which  was  partially  concealed 
by  the  fence  of  a churchyard,  along  which  they  passed, 
Miller  rushed  upon  the  artillerists,  and  drove  them  from 
their  guns  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Presently  General 
Drummond  advanced  ir  the  darkness  to  recover  the 


CHAP. 

XLIV. 


1814. 


July 

24 


664 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIY. 


1814. 


July 

25. 


guns  ; but  nis  men  quailed  before  the  terrible  fire  which 
they  encountered.  He  rallied  them  again ; and  again 
they  were  forced  from  the  hill.  With  the  energy  of  des- 
peration, for  the  third  time  they  advanced,  and  were 
again  met  with  a resistance  equally  obstinate, — the  op- 
posing forces  fighting  hand  to  hand  with  the  bayonet.  It 
was  now  midnight.  The  British  sullenly  retired.  The 
Americans  had  maintained  their  ground,  supplying  their 
own  exhausted  ammunition  from  the  cartridge-boxes  of 
their  slain  foes.  The  men  were  almost  perishing  with 
hunger,  thirst  and  fatigue.  They  had  marched  during  the 
day  fifteen  miles,  and  contended  with  the  enemy  five 
hours.  Exhausted,  they  sank  upon  the  ground.  The 
silence  was  broken  only  by  the  groans  of  the  wounded  and 
dying,  and  the  roar  of  the  mighty  cataract,  whose  moan- 
ing tones  was  a fit  requiem  for  the  dead  on  that  field  of 
blood. 

The  Americans  at  length  retired  to  their  camp,  not 
having  horses  or  any  means  to  carry  off  the  guns  which 
they  had  captured.  The  scouts  of  the  enemy  soon  dis- 
covered that  they  had  retired,  and  a strong  detachment 
was  sent  to  reoccupy  the  hill  and  recover  their  artillery. 

Such  was  the  midnight  battle  of  Bridgewater,  or  Lundy's 
Lane.  The  Americans  lost  nearly  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  men — and  the  British  nearly  nine  hundred  ; an  un- 
precedented loss,  when  compared  with  the  number  en- 
gaged. Brown  and  Scott  were  both  wounded  ; as  well  as 
nearly  all  the  regimental  officers.  The  next  morning  there 
were  but  sixteen  hundred  effective  men  in  the  American 
camp.  It  was  now  seen  that  the  Americans,  when  prop- 
erly led,  could  and  would  fight.  They  had  met  the  vete- 
rans who  fought  under  Wellington  in  Spain,  and  repulsed 
them  in  three  desperate  encounters.  This  battle  stood  out 
in  bold  relief,  when  compared  with  the  imbecility  hitherto 
so  characteristic  of  the  campaigns  on  the  northern  froD- 


BRITISH  REPULSED-  -BATTLE  ON  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN. 


665 


tier.  It  acquired  a national  interest,  as  important  in  its 
effect  as  the  first  naval  victories. 

The  American  army  fell  hack  to  Fort  Erie,  the  com- 
mand of  which  Brown  intrusted  to  Colonel  Edmund  P. 
G-aines.  In  the  course  of  a fortnight,  Drummond  ad- 
vanced with  four  thousand  men,  and  after  bombarding 
the  fort,  attempted  at  midnight  to  carry  it  by  assault. 
The  British,  in  the  face  of  a destructive  fire,  charged 
again  and  again,  even  within  a few  feet  of  the  intrench- 
ments.  They  were  finally  forced  to  retire,  after  sustain- 
ing a loss  of  nearly  a thousand  men — the  Americans  not 
losing  a hundred.  In  a few  weeks  the  energetic  Brown, 
now  partially  recovered  from  his  wounds,  assumed  the 
command.  He  determined  to  make  a dash  at  the  enemy’s 
batteries,  which  were  two  miles  in  advance  of  their  camp. 
The  time,  mid-day,  was  well  chosen.  Bushing  out  from 
the  fort,  before  assistance  could  come  from  the  British 
camp,  he  stormed  the  batteries,  fired  the  magazines, 
spiked  the  guns,  captured  four  hundred  prisoners,  and  re- 
turned to  the  fort,  leaving  six  hundred  of  the  enemy 
killed  and  wounded.  But  this  brilliant  exploit  cost  him 
nearly  three  hundred  men.  Drummond  immediately 
raised  the  siege  and  retreated  beyond  the  Chippewa. 

Stirring  events  occurred  on  another  part  of  the  frontier. 
The  little  navy  on  Lake  Champlain  emulated  the  deeds 
of  the  one  on  Lake  Erie  just  a year  before.  General 
Prevost,  himself,  marched  from  Canada  with  twelve 
thousand  veteran  troops  to  invade  the  State  of  Hew  York 
— the  town  of  Platt sburg  was  the  special  object  of  attack. 
There  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Saranac,  General  Macomb 
was  intrenched  with  an  army  of  three  thousand  men, 
many  of  whom  were  invalids.  The  main  body  of  the 
American  forces  was  under  General  Izard,  at  Sackett’s 
Harbor.  Macomb  called  upon  the  militia  of  Y ermont  and 
New  York  for  aid  ; three  thousand  of  whom  nobly  re- 
sponded, as  did  their  fathers  thirty-seven  years  before, 


CHAP. 

XLIV. 


1814. 


Aug. 

15. 


Sept. 

17. 


Sept 

7 


666 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIY. 


1814. 


Bept. 

11. 


when  Burgoyne  was  moving  in  the  same  direction,  and  foi 
the  same  purpose.  Commodore  Macdonough,  after  labor- 
ing incessantly,  had  at  last  equipped  a fleet.  It  consisted 
of  a ship,  the  Saratoga,  of  twenty-six  guns,  a brig  oi 
twenty  guns,  an  armed  schooner,  and  a sloop,  besides 
some  gun-boats,  in  all  eighty-six  guns  and  eight  hundred 
and  fifty-six  men.  The  British  soon  appeared,  and  be- 
gan to  prepare  batteries  in  order  to  assault  Macomb's 
position.  It  was  useless  to  force  the  Saranac,  unless  the 
command  of  the  lake  was  secured.  Captain  Downie  had 
a fleet  of  one  ship  of  thirty-seven  guns,  a brig  of  twenty- 
four,  two  sloops  each  of  eleven,  and  a number  of  gun- 
boats, in  all  ninety-five  guns  and  one  thousand  men. 
Macdonough  moored  his  fleet  across  the  entrance  of  Platts- 
burg  Bay.  A strange  scene  was  witnessed  on  board  the 
Saratoga.  As  the  British  fleet  drew  near,  Macdonough 
knelt  in  prayer  in  the  presence  of  his  men,  and  implored  the 
blessing  of  Heaven  upon  his  country,  and  especially  upon 
those  about  to  engage  with  him  in  the  coming  conflict. 

Downie  stood  directly  into  the  harbor,  reserving  his 
fire  for  a close  action,  but  his  largest  vessel  became  so 
disabled  that  he  was  obliged  to  cast  anchor  a quarter  of  a 
mile  from  the  American  line.  During  this  time  one  of 
his  sloops  was  so  cut  up  as  to  become  unmanageable,  and 
drifting  within  reach,  was  secured,  while  the  other  sloop 
for  a similar  cause  drifted  ashore.  All  the  guns  on  one 
side  of  Macdonough’s  largest  ship  were  disabled,  but  he 
managed  to  wind  her  round,  and  presented  a whole  side 
and  guns  to  her  antagonist.  Downie  attempted  the  same 
manoeuvre,  but  failing  he  struck  his  flag  ; the  entire  fleet 
was  captured  with  the  exception  of  a few  gun-boats. 

When  the  battle  began  on  the  lake,  Prevost  advanced 
to  storm  Macomb’s  position  ; he  delayed  the  main  attack 
till  a detachment  could  cross  the  river  above,  but  before 
that  was  accomplished,  the  fleet  had  surrendered.  The 
following  night,  in  the  midst  of  a raging  storm,  the  enemy, 


THE  BRITISH  FLEET  IN  THE  CHESAPEAKE. 


667 


stricken  with  a sudden  panic,  commenced  their  retreat, 
abandoned  their  sick  and  wounded,  and  the  greater  part  of 
their  stores.  Thus  again  the  navy  of  the  lake  had  given 
a decisive  blow. 

Their  great  number  of  vessels  enabled  the  British  still 
to  blockade  the  ports  of  the  United  States,  and  effectually 
prevent  their  ships  of  war  from  getting  to  sea.  The  Wasp 
was  their  only  one  afloat.  She  was  known  to  have  lately 
captured  the  British  sloop-of-war  Avon,  and  subsequently 
three  other  prizes.  All  trace  of  her  was  now  lost ; she 
had  gone  down,  carrying  with  her  the  only  American  flag 
which  waved  on  the  ocean  from  a national  vessel.  Chesa- 
peake Bay  became  the  favorite  rendezvous  for  the  British 
fleet  ; its  shores  affording  great  facilities  for  marauding 
expeditions.  As  a defence,  the  gun-boats  were  of  no  ser- 
vice, except  to  make  a bold  front  till  the  enemy  came 
near,  and  then  to  run  up  the  creeks,  out  of  harm's  way. 

In  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  and  its  tributaries, 
there  were  now  sixty  ships  of  war  under  the  command  of 
Admirals  Cockburn  and  Cochrane.  On  board  this  fleet 
was  a land  force  of  five  thousand  troops,  under  General 
Robert  Boss.  The  greatest  alarm  prevailed  in  that  region 
in  consequence  of  a proclamation,  signed  by  Cochrane, 
which  promised  to  persons  desirous  of  emigrating  from  the 
United  States,  employment  in  the  British  army  and  navy, 
or  transportation  as  u free  settlers  ” to  the  West  India 
Islands,  or  to  Canada.  Still  more  alarming  was  the 
rumor,  based  on  the  proposition  of  some  British  officers, 
that  the  enemy  were  about  to  seize  the  peninsula  between 
the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Bays,  and  there  form  and 
drill  an  army  of  runaway  slaves. ' 

General  Winder,  who  was  appointed  to  the  command 
in  the  emergency,  was  authorized  to  call  out  fifteen  thou- 
sand militia  from  the  neighboring  States.  This  he  pro- 
posed to  do  some  weeks  before  the  enemy  appeared,  and 


CHAP. 

XLIV. 


1814. 


Julj 

9. 


668 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  to  place  them  in  a central  position,  that  they  might  be 

. able  to  march  to  the  defence  of  either  Washington,  Balti- 

1814.  more,  or  Annapolis,  as  the  case  might  require.  This  ju- 
dicious plan  was  not  adopted.  Armstrong,  the  Secretary 
of  War,  opposed  it  on  the  ground  that  with  an  empty 
treasury  it  would  be  unjustifiable  to  incur  the  expense  ; 
and,  moreover,  he  was  of  the  opinion  that  Washington 
would  not  be  attacked  by  an  enemy  who  were  without 
horses  or  cannon,  and  that  Baltimore  could  defend  itself. 
President  Madison  seems  to  have  been  at  a loss  what  to 
do  or  advise.  In  the  midst  of  these  discussions  the  enemy 
appeared,  one  portion  of  their  fleet  coming  up  the  hay, 
and  another  up  the  Potomac. 

At  this  late  hour  word  was  sent,  not  by  express,  but 
by  the  tardy  mail,  to  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  asking  them  to  forward  their  requisition  of 
militia.  It  was  now  impossible  for  them  to  reach  the 
scene  of  action.  In  the  mean  time  at  Benedict,  on  the 
Patuxent,  about  fifty  miles  from  Washington,  General 
Boss  landed  five  thousand  troops,  without  meeting  the 
least  opposition  from  the  militia  of  the  neighborhood. 
He  commenced  his  march  toward  the  capital,  moving 
very  slowly,  not  more  than  ten  miles  a day,  the  marines, 
for  want  of  horses,  dragging  their  field-pieces,  only  three 
or  four.  The  soldiers  were  enervated  from  the  effects  of 
their  voyage,  and  from  the  excessive  heat  of  the  weather. 
A few  spirited  troops  could  have  easily  checked  them.  A 
company  of  armed  and  trained  negroes  marched  in  front, 
cautiously  exploring  the  country,  and  receiving  from  run- 
away slaves  information  of  the  Americans.  The  soul  of 
the  enterprise  was  the  notorious  Cockburn,  who  had  been 
for  a year  engaged  in  pillaging  that  region.  The  planters 
were  so  much  alarmed  for  their  own  safety,  lest  the  slaves, 
much  more  numerous  than  their  masters,  should  rise  in 
insurrection  and  join  the  enemy,  that  they  permitted  the 
invaders  to  advance  for  four  days  without  making  the  least 


BATTLE  OF  BLADENSBURG. 


669 


opposition.  They  might  have  been  delayed  on  their 
march  ranch  longer,  if  trees  had  been  felled  at  certain 
points  where  the  roads  crossed  swamps,  or  if  the  numerous 
bridges  on  the  route  had  been  broken  down. 

Commodore  Barney,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
flotilla  of  gun-boats,  ran  them  up  the  Patuxent  as  far  as 
possible,  then  set  them  on  fire,  and  marched  with  five 
hundred  marines  to  join  the  militia  concentrating  in  the 
vicinity  of  Bladensburg.  Here  he  was  put  in  command 
of  some  heavy  guns  brought  from  the  navy  yard.  The 
President  himself,  accompanied  by  his  cabinet,  visited  the 
camp,  where  all  was  in  confusion.  The  divisions  of 
militia  were  stationed  by  General  Winder  in  such  posi- 
tions as  to  support  each  other,  but  these  had  been  changed 
by  self-constituted  officers,  who  accompanied  the  Presi- 
dent. It  was  ascertained  that  the  enemy  was  moving 
toward  Bladensburg.  Rumor  had  magnified  their  num- 
ber to  ten  thousand  ; all  veterans.  The  discreet  militia 
began  to  retreat,  some  with  permission  and  some  without. 
On  learning  this  General  Winder  sent  orders  for  them  to 
make  a stand  at  the  bridge  and  fight.  The  village  was 
abandoned,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  east  branch  of 
the  Potomac  the  marines  and  militia  were  arranged. 
Barney  had  placed  his  men  in  a position  to  sweep  the 
road  with  the  guns.  About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon 
the  enemy  appeared,  but  so  excessive  had  been  the  heat, 
that  they  were  completely  exhausted.  When  Ross  re- 
connoitred the  militia  stationed  on  the  rising  ground,  he 
was  somewhat  alarmed  at  their  formidable  appearance. 
But  he  had  gone  too  far  to  retreat  ; the  order  was  given 
to  move  forward.  His  alarm  was  of  short  continuance. 
A few  Congreve  rockets  put  the  Maryland  militia  to  flight  ; 
the  riflemen  followed  ; the  artillery,  after  firing  not  more 
than  twice,  rapidly  retreated  ; then  the  Baltimore  regi- 
ment, on  which  some  hopes  were  placed,  fled  also,  carry- 
ing with  them  the  President  and  his  cabinet.  The 


CHAP, 

XLIV 


1814. 


Aug, 

22. 


Aug 

24, 


670 


HISTORY  OP  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIY. 


1814. 


lug. 

25. 


British  now  moved  slowly  on  until  they  were  checked  by 
the  guns  manned  by  the  marines  under  Barney.  Find- 
ing it  impossible  to  force  the  position  of  the  marines  and 
sailors  in  front,  detachments  filed  by  the  right  and  left 
and  passed  up  ravines.  At  the  head  of  one  was  stationed 
the  Annapolis  regiment,  which  fled  at  the  first  fire.  At 
the  head  of  the  other  ravine  were  placed  some  regulars 
and  militia  ; they  also  showed  their  discretion  by  getting 
out  of  harm's  way  as  soon  as  possible.  The  sailors  and 
marines,  thus  deserted,  and  in  danger  of  being  surrounded, 
retired,  their  guns  and  wounded  companions  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Owing  to  the  vigorous  fire  of 
the  marines,  the  British  lost  a large  number  of  men,  and 
others  died  from  fatigue  and  heat,  and  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  wait  some  hours  before  they  could  march  on 
Washington.  Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Bladensburg, — 
in  one  respect  the  most  famous  in  American  annals. 

In  the  cool  of  the  evening  the  British  advanced  into 
Washington,  which  they  found  almost  entirely  deserted 
by  its  male  inhabitants.  The  enemy  proceeded  to  dis- 
grace themselves  by  fulfilling  the  instructions  which  Ad- 
miral Cochrane  had  previously  officially  announced, 
which  were  “to. destroy  and  lay  waste  all  towns  and  dis- 
tricts of  the  United  States  found  accessible  to  the  attack 
of  British  armaments."  They  burned  the  capitol,  and  with 
it  the  Congressional  Library,  and  the  buildings  used  for 
the  Treasury  and  State  Departments,  in  revenge,  as  it  was 
said,  for  the  Parliament  House  at  York.  Many  important 
papers  were  lost,  but  the  most  valuable  had  been  removed 
some  days  before.  Mrs.  Madison  had  left  the  President's 
mansion,  taking  with  her  the  plate  and  valuables,  and  also  a 
portrait  of  Washington — which  was  taken  from  the  frame 
and  rolled  up.  The  mansion  was  pillaged  and  set  on  fire, 
as  were  some  private  dwellings,  and  stores  were  also  plun- 
dered. A complete  destruction  followed  at  the  navy 
yard. 


GENERAL  ROSS  SLAIN — 1 EFENCE  OF  FORT  MCHENRY. 


671 


In  the  midst  of  a hostile  country,  General  Ross,  with 
a handful  of  exhausted  men,  was  ill  at  ease.  Perhaps  he 
had  read  of  Concord  and  Lexington,  and  was  alarmed 
lest  “ the  indignant  citizen  soldiery  ” would  turn  out  and 
harass  him  on  his  retreat.  Early  the  following  night  he 
kindled  the  camp  fires,  and  leaving  behind  him  the  sick 
and  wounded,  he  commenced  a stealthy  retreat  to  his 
ships.  His  alarm  was  needless  ; in  a march  of  four  days 
not  the  least  opposition  did  he  experience.  Four  days 
after  the  taking  of  the  capital,  the  British  fhgates,  passing 
by  Fort  Washington,  which  offered  but  little  resistance, 
came  up  the  Potomac  and  anchored  opposite  Alexandria, 
which  town  saved  itself  from  a bombardment  by  paying 
an  enormous  tribute. 

When  his  men  were  refreshed,,  General  Ross  moved 
with  the  fleet  up  the  Chesapeake,  toward  Baltimore.  The 
militia  of  Maryland  by  this  time  had  assembled  for  the 
defence  of  the  city,  and  also  several  companies  of  volun- 
teers had  arrived  from  Pennsylvania.  The  enemy,  eight 
thousand  strong,  landed  at  North  Point,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Patapsco.  The  land  forces  commenced  their  march, 
and  the  fleet  to  ascend  the  river,  intending  to  capture 
Fort  McHenry,  situated  two  miles  below  the  city.  An 
advance  party  of  Americans  were  thrown  forward.  In  a 
skirmish  with  this  party,  General  Ross  was  killed,  yet  the 
invaders  pressed  on;  the  militia,  after  a spirited  encounter, 
retired  in  good  order.  The  next  morning  the  enemy  ad- 
vanced, yet  hesitatingly,  as  the  neighboring  hills  were 
covered  with  soldiers,  field  works  and  artillery,  which  al- 
together made  a formidable  appearance.  They  were  un- 
der the  veteran  General  Samuel  Smith,  the  same  who  so 
gallantly  defended  Fort  Mifflin  in  the  Revolution.  The 
British  hesitated  to  commence  the  attack  without  the  co- 
operation of  the  fleet,  which  was  then  busily  engaged  in 
bombarding  Fort  McHenry,  but  without  much  success, 
as  the  fort  was  replying  with  great  spirit.  When  it  was 


CHAP. 

XLIV 


1814. 


Aug 

29. 


Sept. 

12 


672 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIY. 


1814. 


Aug. 


Feb. 


ascertained  that  the  fleet  could  not  pass  the  fort,  the  in- 
vaders silently  retired  in  the  night  and  re -embarked. 

It  was  amid  the  excitement  of  this  cannonade  that 
F rancis  Key  composed  the  popular  song  of  the  u Star 
Spangled  Banner/'  He  had  gone  to  ask  the  release  of 
certain  prisoners,  and  had  been  detained  during  the  at- 
tack on  board  the  British  fleet. 

From  Eastport  in  Maine  to  Sandy  Hook,  the  whole 
Eastern  coast  was  liable  to  these  marauding  expeditions. 
One  of  the  most  serious  of  these,  was  the  bombardment 
of  Stonington  in  Connecticut,  which  continued  for  four 
days,  but  after  throwing  shells  and  rockets,  and  several 
attempts  to  land,  the  enemy  retired.  They  were  repelled 
in  every  instance  by  the  sturdy  militia.  Field  works, 
garrisoned  by  the  yeomanry  of  the  country,  were  thrown 
up  at  all  points  along  the  coast  likely  to  be  an  object  of 
attack.  This  was  done  by  the  State  authorities,  the  na- 
tional government  being  so  completely  enfeebled,  as  to 
be  unable  to  afford  the  least  aid  to  any  of  the  States. 

The  people  of  New  England,  with  very  few  exceptions, 
continued  to  complain  of  their  grievances.  Their  dis- 
tress was  great;  the  embargo,  enforced  by  severe  penalties, 
ruined  their  fisheries  and  their  coasting  trade,  and  had 
deprived  them  of  many  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  They 
looked  upon  these  restrictions  as  “ more  odious  and  un- 
feeling than  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  which  roused  the  colo- 
nies to  independence  ; a gross  and  palpable  violation  of  the 
principles  of  the  Constitution,  not  to  be  submitted  to  with- 
out a pusillanimous  surrender  of  their  rights  and  liberties/' 

Petitions  poured  in  "to  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts, 
asking  it  to  take  measures  to  redress  these  grievances.  A 
committee  to  whom  these  petitions  were  referred,  reported 
in  terms  expressive  of  the  general  sentiment  of  the  pe- 
titioners. They  believed  that  the  war,  so  fertile  in  failures, 
and  so  threatening  as  to  its  results,  was  uncalled  foi  and 


DEBATES  IN  CONGRESS — DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


673 


wrong  in  principle.  They  saw  in  the  future  the  people 
impoverished,  deprived  of  their  comforts,  and  their  hopes 
blasted.  And  the  committee  recommended  a convention 
of  delegates  from  the  commercial  States,  to  obtain  amend- 
ments to  the  constitution  that  would  secure  them  against 
such  evils. 

These  manifestations  of  discontent  had  their  effect, 
and  the  President  himself  proposed  the  abandonment  of 
the  restrictive  system,  not  only  the  embargo,  hut  the  non- 
importation act.  In  order  to  encourage  domestic  manu- 
factures, instead  of  the  latter  he  recommended  that  for 
three  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  double  duties  be 
imposed  upon  imported  goods,  and  that  the  exportation 
of  specie  be  prohibited. 

The  advocates  of  the  war  in  Congress,  annoyed  at  the 
failures  of  the  last  two  years,  attributed  their  want  of 
success  to  the  influence  of  those  opposed  to  the  war  ; in- 
stead of  acknowledging  their  own  imprudence,  in  thus 
rushing,  without  preparation,  into  hostilities,  or  ceasing  to 
be  infatuated  with  the  idea  of  conquering  Canada.  In 
the  discussion  on  a hill  to  procure  enlistments  for  the 
army,  Daniel  Webster  in  reply  to  these  charges,  no 
doubt  expressed  the  general  sentiment  of  those  opposed 
to  the  war.  In  those  sections  of  the  country  where  the 
population  was  most  numerous,  the  war  was  unpopular 
because  of  its  impolicy  ; — it  was  no  detraction  from  their 
patriotism  that  they  did  not  join  heart  and  hand  in 
measures  which  they  deemed  the  extreme  of  folly.  He 
continued, — “ Give  up  your  futile  projects  of  invasion. 
Extinguish  the  fires  which  blaze  on  your  inland  frontiers. 
Establish  perfect  safety  and  defence  there  by  adequate 
force.  Let  every  man  that  sleeps  on  your  soil  sleep  in 
security.  Having  performed  this  work  of  beneficence  and 
mercy  on  your  inland  border,  turn  and  look  with  the  eye 
of  justice  and  compassion  on  your  vast  population  along 
the  eoast.  Unclench  the  iron  grasp  of  your  embargo.  Take 


CHAP. 

XLIV. 


1814. 


Mar 

31. 


674 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIY. 


1814. 


Dec. 

15. 


measures  for  that  end  before  another  sun  sets  upon  yotk. 
With  all  the  war  of  the  enemy  upon  your  commerce,  if 
you  would  cease  to  make  war  upon  it  yourselves,  yon 
would  still  have  some  commerce.  That  commerce  would 
give  you  some  revenue.  Apply  that  revenue  to  the  aug- 
mentation of  your  navy.  Let  it  no  longer  he  said,  that 
not  one  ship  of  force,  built  by  your  hands  since  the  war, 
yet  floats  upon  the  ocean.  If  the  war  must  continue,  go 
to  the  ocean.  If  you  are  seriously  contending  for  mari- 
time rights,  go  to  the  theatre  where  alone  those  rights  can 
be  defended.  Thither  every  indication  of  your  fortune 
points  you.  There  the  united  wishes  and  exertions  of 
the  nation  will  go  with  you.  Even  our  party  divisions, 
acrimonious  as  they  are,  cease  at  the  water's  edge.  Tney 
are  lost  in  attachment  to  the  national  character,  on  the 
element  where  that  character  is  made  respectable.  In 
time  you  may  be  able  to  redress  injuries  in  the  place 
where  they  may  be  offered  ; and,  if  need  be,  to  accompany 
your  own  flag  throughout  the  world  with  the  protection 
of  your  own  cannon." 

The  embargo  and  non-importation  act  were  repealed, 
while  action  on  the  other  recommendations  of  the  Presi- 
dent was  postponed. 

The  delegates  to  the  convention  recommended  by  the 
legislature  of  Massachusetts,  met  upon  the  appointed  day 
at  Hartford.  In  accordance  with  the  sentiments  express- 
ed in  the  call  for  the  convention,  the  members  were  en- 
joined not  to  propose  measures  “ repugnant  to  their  obli- 
gations, as  members  of  the  Union."  They  met  in  a time 
of  trial  and  distress  to  confer  with  each  other  on  the  best 
means  to  relieve  the  country  of  a ruinous  war,  and  secure 
the  blessings  of  a permanent  peace.  The  Convention, 
consisting  of  but  twenty-six  members,  sat  with  closed 
doors.  After  a session  of  twenty  days  it  adjourned,  and, 
as  the  result  of  their  deliberations,  published  an  address 
to  the  people.  The  address  disappointed  the  more  violent 


THE  HARTFORD  CONVENTION. 


675 


opponents  of  the  war,  who  thought  the  occasion  demanded 
more  decided  measures.  The  President  and  his  cabinet 
had  been  much  alarmed  ; in  the  Convention,  they  imagin- 
ed lurked  some  terrible  plot  of  treason  ; they  breathed 
more  freely  when  they  read  this  address  and  the  resolutions 

After  recapitulating  the  evils  which  the  war  had 
brought  upon  the  people  whom  they  represented,  they  ex- 
pressed their  sentiments  upon  other  wrongs  ; such  as  the 
enlistment  of  minors  and  apprentices  ; the  national  gov- 
ernment assuming  to  command  the  State  militia  ; and 
especially  the  proposed  system  of  conscription  for  both 
army  and  navy.  u Strange  propositions  for  a government 
professedly  waging  war  to  protect  its  seamen  from  im- 
pressment ! ” cc  The  conscription  of  the  father  with  the 
seduction  of  the  son,  renders  complete  the  power  of  the 
national  executive  over  the  male  population  of  the  coun- 
try, thus  destroying  the  most  important  relations  of 
society.” 

“ A free  constitution  administered  by  great  and  in- 
comparable statesmen  realized  the  fondest  hopes  of  liberty 
and  independence,  under  Washington  and  his  measures. 
The  arts  flourished,  the  comforts  of  life  were  universally 
diffused,  nothing  remained  but  to  reap  the  advantages 
and  cherish  the  resources  flowing  from  this  policy.” 

“ Our  object  is  to  strengthen  and  perpetuate  the  union 
of  these  States,  by  removing  the  causes  of  jealousies.” 

In  furtherance  of  these  views  they  proposed  amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution  ; among  others,  to  equalize  the 
representation  in  the  lower  House  of  Congress,  by  basing  it 
on  free  population  ; against  embargoes  and  non-intercourse 
laws  ; to  make  the  President  ineligible  for  a second  term. 
These  amendments  were  never  adopted  by  the  States. 
The  existence  of  the  Convention  showed  the  intense  feel- 
ing on  the  subject  of  the  war  and  its  consequences,  and 
its  deliberations  exhibit  no  other  spirit  than  that  of  wish- 
ing to  redress  grievances  by  constitutional  means. 


CHAP, 

XLIV. 

1814. 


676 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS'  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLIY. 


1814. 


Shortly  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Convention,  the 
legislatures  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  viewing 
the  law  of  Congress  which  authorized  the  enlistment  of 
minors  and  apprentices,  as  a violation  of  their  rights  and 
unconstitutional,  passed  laws  that  subjected  the  recruiting 
officers  to  fine  and  imprisonment  ; and  required  the  State 
judges  to  release  any  such  minor  or  apprentice  on  appli- 
cation of  the  parent  or  guardian.  Fortunately  the  war 
was  soon  after  brought  to  a close,  and  the  necessity  for 
enlistments  under  this  oppressive  and  demoralizing  law, 
was  removed. 


CHAPTER  XLV, 


MADISON'S  ADMINISTRATION— CONCLUDED. 

Jackson  enters  Pensacola. — New  Orleans  defenceless. — The  British  lard.— 
Jackson’s  Measures  of  Defence. — Battle  of  New  Orleans. — The  Distress 
of  the  Country  and  Embarrassment  of  the  Government. — The  Relief. — 

Treaty  of  Peace. — The  Frigate  President  captured. — Successes  at  Sea. 

— War  with  Algiers. — Treaty  with  that  Power. — Treaty  with  the  In- 
dians.— Financial  Disorders. — State  of  Indiana. — John  Fitch. — Robert 
Fulton. — First  Steamboat. 

When  arranging  affairs  with  the  Creeks,  General  chap. 

Jackson  learned  that  the  Spaniards  at  Pensacola  had  

welcomed  the  hostile  Indians,  and  also  that  a British  1814. 
man-of-war  had  furnished  them  with  arms.  Intelligence 
of  this  was  sent  to  Washington,  whence  orders  were  trans- 
mitted to  Jackson  to  seize  Pensacola.  That  these  orders 
were  six  months  on  the  way,  may  illustrate  the  efficiency 
with  which  the  War  Department  was  conducted.  Mean- 
time some  British  men-of-war  arrived  in  the  harbor,  from 
which  a Colonel  Nichols  landed  men  and  began  to  enlist 
the  Creeks.  Jackson  now  sent  urgent  appeals  to  his 
favorite  Tennessee  mounted  men  to  hasten  to  his  aid. 

The  British  soon  after  attacked  Fort  Bowyer  on  the  east 
shore  of  Mobile  Bay.  The  fort  was  defended  by  one 
hundred  and  thirty  men,  under  Major  Lawrence.  The 
vigorous  defence  soon  repulsed  the  enemy,  one  of  whose 
ships  blew  up  and  the  rest  were  fain  to  depart.  This 
success  encouraged  the  people  of  Louisiana  and  Missis- 
sippi in  their  efforts  to  defend  New  Orleans  themselves, 


678 


HISTORY  OF  THE  A3IERICAX  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLY. 

1814. 

Nov. 

6. 


without  depending  upon  the  General  Government.  Jack- 
son  wrote  repeatedly  to  Washington  for  orders  and  re- 
ceived none,  but  when  the  three  thousand  Tennesseans, 
under  General  Coffee,  arrived,  he  took  the  responsibility 
to  enter  Pensacola  and  demand  that  the  British  should 
leave  the  place.  He  also  intimated  in  emphatic  terms  to 
the  Spanish  governor,  that  he  would  hold  him  responsible 
for  permitting  the  British  to  occupy  his  territory,  for  the 
purpose  of  encouraging  the  Creeks  in  their  hostility.  The 
British  immediately  blew  up  a fort  which  they  had  erected 
seven  miles  below  the  town,  and  took  to  their  ships. 

Confident  that  the  enemy  designed  to  direct  their 
efforts  against  New  Orleans,  Jackson  sent  in  advance 
General  Coffee  to  some  point  on  the  Mississippi,  with  the 
mounted  men,  while  he  himself  followed,  as  soon  as  cir- 
cumstances would  permit.  The  defences  of  New  Orleans 
were  in  a deplorable  condition  ; since  Wilkinson  left, 
nothing  further  had  been  done  to  repair  them.  The  city 
contained  nearly  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  not  one- 
half  of  whom  were  whites.  These  were  principally  of 
French  origin,  and  others  of  foreign  birth,  none  of  whom 
were  ardently  attached  to  the  United  States.  Jackson 
hastened  to  the  point  of  danger.  He  availed  himself  of 
every  possible  aid  ; he  released  the  convicts  in  the  prisons, 
and  enrolled  them  for  the  occasion  ; accepted  the  offered 
services  of  Lafitte,  the  head  of  the  Baratarian  buccaneers. 
He  also  issued  an  address  to  “ the  noble-hearted,  gener- 
ous, free  men  of  color,”  to  enroll  themselves  for  the  de- 
fence of  their  country.  To  this  call,  under  an  act  of  the 
Louisiana  Legislature,  they  heartily  responded. 

While  he  was  thus  unprepared,  the  British  fleet  cast 
anchor  off  the  entrance  of  Lake  Borgne.  It  had  on  board 
twelve  thousand  land  troops,  besides  four  thousand  sailors 
and  marines.  These  troops  had  recently  been  under  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  in  the  Peninsular  war,  and  were 
commanded  by  able  and  experienced  generals  ; Sir  Ed- 


JACKSON'S  PREPARATIONS CONFLICTS. 


679 


ward  Packingham,  a brother-in-law  of  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, Gibbs,  Keene,  and  Lambert.  Three  days  later, 
after  a severe  contest,  they  captured  the  entire  American 
flotilla  on  Lake  Borgne. 

The  Louisiana  militia  were  immediately  called  out, 
but  they  were  ill  supplied  with  arms.  Some  months  pre- 
vious, Jackson,  anticipating  this  very  emergency,  had 
urged  upon  the  War  Department  at  Washington  to  send 
a supply  of  arms  from  the  arsenal  at  Pittsburg.  The 
government  agent,  unwilling  to  pay  the  usual  freight  on 
the  only  steamboat  then  running  to  New  Orleans,  shipped 
the  arms  on  board  keel  boats.  Thus  twenty-five  cents  on 
a hundred  pounds  of  freight  were  saved  by  the  govern- 
ment, and  Jackson  received  the  muskets  after  the  battle  ! 

General  Coffee  had  reached  Baton  Kouge,  at  which 
place  he  received  orders  to  hasten  with  all  speed  to  the 
scene  of  action.  With  eight  hundred  of  his  best  mounted 
men — all  unerring  marksmen,  armed  with  rifles  and  toma- 
hawks— he  made  the  extraordinary  march  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  in  two  days.  Thus,  by  similar  exertions, 
in  the  space  of  a fortnight,  Jackson  had  five  thousand 
men,  four-fifths  of  whom  were  militia.  Other  difficulties 
presented  themselves.  Owing  to  the  want  of  co-operation 
on  the  part  of  the  legislature,  and  the  necessities  of  the 
times,  he  proclaimed  martial  law. 

The  enemy  landed  two  thousand  light  armed  troops, 
under  General  Keene.  Jackson  marched  to  meet  them 
with  the  regulars,  and  Coffee's  men  dismounted.  Soon 
after  dark  the  battle  began  ; the  enemy  were  driven  from 
one  point  to  another,  till  finally  they  found  protection 
behind  a levee.  Good  service  was  done  in  this  conflict 
by  the  armed  schooner  Carolina,  which  ran  in  near  the 
shore,  and  with  her  guns  swept  their  ranks.  This  success- 
ful repulse  of  the  invaders  greatly  encouraged  the  Ameri- 
cans. 

The  next  day  Jackson  took  a position  on  solid  ground 


CHAP. 

XLV. 


1814. 


Dec 

20. 


Dec 

28. 


680 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLV. 


1815. 


Jan. 

1. 


Jan. 

4. 


Jan, 

8. 


nearly  a mile  in  breadth  ; the  river  protecting  one  flanL. 
and  a swamp  the  other.  Though  strongly  reinforced,  the 
British  made  no  attempt  the  following  day  to  retrieve 
what  they  had  lost,  being  deterred  by  the  reports  of 
prisoners,  who  greatly  exaggerated  the  strength  of  Jack- 
son's force.  This  delay  was  profitably  occupied  in 
strengthening  the  defences  ; bales  of  cotton  were  used  as 
a rampart,  and  the  ditch  was  extended  to  the  swamp. 
Five  days  after  the  enemy  advanced  and  drove  in  the 
American  outposts,  and  when  within  half  a mile  of  the 
ramparts  opened  with  artillery  and  Congreve  rockets. 
Yet  Jackson  replied  with  so  much  vigor,  with  his  five 
heavy  guns,  that  after  a cannonade  of  seven  hours  the 
enemy  withdrew,  having  suffered  considerable  loss. 

Within  three  days  after  this  repulse,  they  made 
another  attack  with  much  heavier  artillery.  Their  move- 
ments were  concealed  by  a dense  fog,  and  the  intimation 
of  their  approach  was  given  only  by  their  cannon  balls 
crashing  through  the  American  camp,  but  Jackson  had 
so  strengthened  his  works,  that  the  British — their  guns 
dismounted  and  silenced — were  again  compelled  to  retire  ; 
but  it  was  to  make  preparations  for  a grand  assault. 

Presently  twenty-two  hundred  Kentucky  riflemen 
arrived  ; of  whom  unfortunately  one-half  were  without 
arms,  and  could  not  be  supplied.  These  Jackson  placed 
to  throw  up  a second  line  of  intrenchments  in  the  rear  oi 
the  first  line. 

When  prepared,  the  British  moved  to  the  assault, 
under  the  cover  of  a battery  of  six  eighteen-pounders, 
which  had  been  erected  the  previous  night.  The  main 
column  was  led  by  Packenham  in  person,  intending  to 
storm  the  centre,  one  column  moved  along  the  river  and 
carried  a redoubt,  another,  led  by  Gibbs  and  Keene,  ad- 
vanced along  the  edge  of  the  swamp. 

As  the  advancing  columns  came  within  range,  the 
American  artillery  opened  upon  them  with  deadly  effect, 


BATTLE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS. 


681 


yet  they  filled  up  their  ranks  and  moved  steadily  on. 

Presently  they  reached  the  range  of  the  Kentucky  and  

Tennessee  rifles,  which  poured  in  a continuous  stream  of  1815. 
unerring  bullets.  The  heads  of  the  columns  faltered. 

While  endeavoring  to  rally  them,  Packenham  fell ; Keene 
and  Gibbs  were  both  wounded,  the  latter  mortally.  The 
command  then  devolved  on  General  Lambert,  who  made 
two  more  unsuccessful  attempts  to  storm  the  works,  but 
was  forced  to  retire,  leaving  on  the  field  two  thousand 
men  killed  and  wounded.  Jackson  had  taken  the  pre- 
caution to  send  General  Morgan  across  the  river  to  throw 
up  intrenchments  directly  opposite  his  own.  The  night 
previous  to  the  battle,  Packenham  sent  a detachment 
under  Colonel  Thorntcn,  who  drove  Morgan  from  his 
position,  but  when  the  main  body  was  defeated  he  took 
to  his  boats  and  hastily  retreated. 

In  this  battle  the  Americans  lost  seven  men  killed  and 
as  many  wounded. 

Taking  every  precaution  to  guard  against  surprise, 
Lambert  gradually  fell  back  to  the  first  landing  place, 
and  then,  in  the  course  of  twenty  days,  re-embarked. 

Thus  virtually  ended  the  war  of  1812.  The  only 
battles  well  fought  on  land,  were  those  directed  by  new 
men  called  into  active  service  by  the  war  itself.  The 
victories  at  Lundy's  Lane  and  New  Orleans  were  gained 
by  soldiers  who  had  been  trained  but  a short  time,  but* 
they  were  under  commanders  in  whom  they  had  implicit 
confidence. 

Though  these  successful  events  were  transpiring  in 
that  distant  region,  yet  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  at 
Washington,  it  was  the  gloomiest  period  of  the  war. 
Affairs  were  almost  desperate.  The  treasury  exhausted, 
the  national  credit  gone,  the  terrible  law  of  conscription, 
like  an  ominous  cloud  hanging  over  the  people,  civil  dis- 
cord seemingly  ready  to  spring  up  between  the  States  ; 


682 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


€HAP. 
XL  V. 


1815. 


Feb. 

11. 


the  coasts  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  yet  subject  ta 
the  marauding  expeditions  of  the  infamous  Cockburn, 
while  the  inhabitants  were  crying  in  vain  to  the  General 
Government  for  assistance.  Nothing  favorable  had  yet 
been  heard  from  the  commissioners  of  peace  at  Ghent, 
nor  even  from  New  Orleans.  It  was  known  that  a very 
large  force  of  British  veterans  was  in  the  vicinity  of  that 
place,  and  that  Jackson  was  very  ill-prepared  to  meet  them. 

As  a gleam  of  sunshine  in  intense  darkness,  a rumor, 
by  way  of  Canada,  proclaimed  that  peace  had  been  con- 
cluded ; at  the  same  time  came  another  from  the  south- 
west that  the  enemy  had  been  defeated.  While  all  were 
tremblingly  anxious  for  the  truth  of  these  rumors,  late  of 
a Saturday  night,  a British  sloop-of-war,  the  Favorite, 
commissioned  for  the  purpose,  arrived  at  New  York, 
bringing  the  treaty  of  peace,  already  ratified  by  the 
British  government.  The  cry  of  peace  ! peace  ! ran 
through  the  city.  As  if  by  one  impulse  the  houses  were 
illuminated,  and  the  citizens,  without  distinction  of  party, 
thronged  the  streets  to  congratulate  each  other.  In 
the  midst  of  their  own  rejoicings  they  did  not  forget  their 
brethren  who  were  yet  ignorant  of  the  welcome  news,  and 
messengers  were  sent  in  every  direction.  In  thirty-two 
hours,  the  express  with  the  tidings  reached  Boston. 
There  the  excitement  was  almost  unbounded.  The 
people  assembled  in  crowds  to  hear  the  news,  which  had 
so  unexpectedly  brought  relief  to  their  distresses.  The 
hells  rang  their  merriest  peal,  and  the  schools  received  a 
holiday.  Flags  and  streamers  were  soon  displayed  on  the 
vessels  which  had  lain  so  long  idle  at  the  wharf.  Before 
night,  carpenters  and  riggers  were  at  work,  sailors  were 
engaged,  cargoes  were  passing  on  board  ; Boston  was  her- 
self again  in  commercial  activity.  The  reception  of  the 
news  was  followed  by  similar  rejoicings  all  along  the  coast, 
and  throughout  the  country.  To  add  still  more  to  the 
happiness,  as  well  as  the  gratification  of  the  nation,  in  a 


THANKSGIVINGS — THE  FRIGATE  PRESIDENT  CAPTURED.  683 


few  days  was  confirmed  the  rumor  of  the  total  defeat  of 
the  British  before  New  Orleans. 

The  Senate  unanimously  ratified  the  treaty  within 
thirty  hours  after  it  was  laid  before  them.  The  President 
speedily  issued  a proclamation,  announcing  the  fact,  that 
once  more  peace  reigned  throughout  the  land.  A day  for 
thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  for  the  blessing,  was  ob- 
served by  the  nation. 

The  treaty  provided  for  the  mutual  restoration  of  all 
places  taken  during  the  war  ; also  for  determining  the 
northern  boundary,  and  other  matters  of  minor  importance 
were  amicably  arranged.  But  not  a word  was  said  on  the 
impressment  question,  for  the  settlement  of  which  the 
war  had  ostensibly  been  continued  after  the  first  two 
months.  Both  parties  seem  to  have  been  heartily  tired 
of  fighting  ; though  Great  Britain  wished  to  restrain 
what  she  thought  an  alarming  grasping  spirit  in  the  New 
Republic,  as  evidenced  in  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  and 
the  attempts  on  Canada. 

A few  days  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  the 
President  recommended  to  Congress  the  passage  of  a law 
to  guard  against  incidents  which,  during  the  periods  of  war 
in  Europe,  might  tend  to  interrupt  peace,  enjoining  that 
“ American  vessels  be  navigated  exclusively  by  American 
seamen,  either  natives  or  such  as  are  already  naturalized, ” 
thus  endeavoring  to  gain  by  legislation  what  could  not  be 
obtained  by  war.  Yet  one  object  had  been  secured — wre 
hear  no  more  of  the  impressment  of  American  seamen. 

Previous  to  the  announcement  of  peace,  the  command- 
ers of  some  of  the  national  vessels  determined  to  evade  the 
blockading  enemy  and  escape  to  sea.  Commodore  De- 
catur, on  board  the  frigate  President,  commanding  the 
sloops  Hornet  and  Peacock  to  follow,  attempted  to  evade 
the  blockade  of  the  port  of  New  York.  Passing  out  in 
the  Bight,  after  being  unfortunately  aground  for  some 


CHAP. 

XLV. 


1815. 


Feb. 

18. 


Jan. 

15. 


684 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLW 


1815. 


Mar. 


June 

30. 


Feb. 

20. 


hours,  in  the  morning  he  fell  in  with  the  British  squadron, 
by  whom  he  was  chased.  One  of  the  enemy,  the  frigate 
Endymion,  commenced  an  engagement,  but  after  a run- 
ning fight,  she  was  effectually  disabled,  and  fain  to  haul 
off.  The  President  unfortunately  was  also  crippled,  and 
the  other  British  vessels  coming  up,  Decatur  was  com- 
pelled to  strike  his  colors. 

A few  days  after,  the  Hornet  and  Peacock  avoided  the 
blockade,  and  proceeded  to  their  rendezvous,  off  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  On  her  way  the  Hornet.  Captain  Biddle, 
fell  in  wfith  and  captured  the  British  brig  Penguin.  The 
latter  was  made  a complete  wreck,  and  as  such  was  set  on 
fire.  The  Peacock  joined  her  consort,  and  in  company 
they  sailed  to  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  Hornet  was  soon 
after  chased  by  a British  seventy-four,  and  in  order  to 
escape,  she  was  compelled  to  throw  her  guns  and  nearlv 
all  her  armament  overboard,  in  which  condition  she  re- 
turned to  New  York.  The  Peacock,  Captain  Warring- 
ton, continued  on  to  the  East  Indies,  where  she  captured 
the  cruiser  Nautilus. 

The  Constitution,  Captain  Stewart,  also  evaded  the 
blockade  off  Boston  harbor.  On  a moonlight  night  she 
fell  in  with  two  war  vessels  off  the  port  of  Lisbon.  They 
prepared  to  engage,  but  the  Constitution  manoeuvred  to 
keep  the  wind  at  about  an  equal  distance  from  her  an- 
tagonists. Captain  Stewart,  seizing  a favorable  oppor- 
tunity, directed  all  his  force  upon  the  vessel  nearest, 
which  almost  immediately  struck  ; then  he  captured  the 
other  in  a similar  manner.  The  prizes  proved  to  be  the 
British  sloops-of-war  Cvane  and  Levant.  These  captures 
were  all  made  after  the  articles  of  peace  were  signed. 

Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  war  with  Britain, 
the  Dey  of  Algiers,  thinking  the  Americans  would  have 
no  means  of  punishing  him,  renewed  his  old  practice  of 
piracy.  Pretending  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  presents 
he  had  received  from  the  American  government,  he  dis- 


COMMODORE  DECATUR  HUMBLES  THE  DEY  OF  ALGIERS.  685 


missed  Lear,  the  consul,  threatening  to  reduce  him  and 
his  family,  and  all  the  Americans  in  Algiers,  to  slavery,  a 
fate  which  Lear  escaped  by  paying  a large  ransom.  Some 
American  vessels  were  afterward  seized  by  the  pirates,  and 
their  crews  reduced  to  slavery. 

Two  months  after  the  conclusion  of  peace,  an  Ameri- 
can squadron,  under  Decatur,  consisting  of  three  large 
frigates  and  seven  other  vessels  of  war,  sailed  for  the 
Mediterranean.  Six  weeks  later,  Bainbridge  followed 
with  the  Independence,  the  new  seventy-four,  accompanied 
by  other  war  vessels  ; on  the  way  he  was  also  joined  by 
the  Congress  frigate.  But  before  his  arrival  in  the  Medi- 
terranean, the  energetic  Decatur  had  brought  the  Dey 
to  terms.  On  the  second  day  after  passing  through  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar,  he  fell  in  with  the  largest  frigate  of 
the  Dey  under  his  high  Admiral,  on  a cruise  for  Ameri- 
can merchantmen.  After  a fight  of  less  than  thirty 
minutes  the  Algerine  was  captured  ; two  days  after 
another  cruiser  shared  a similar  fate.  When  the  squadron 
appeared  before  Algiers,  the  intelligence  of  these  disasters, 
by  which  he  had  lost  his  best  ship,  and  six  hundred  men, 
had  greatly  humbled  the  Dey.  To  escape  a worse  pun- 
ishment, he  gladly  submitted  to  the  indignity  of  signing, 
on  Decatur’s  quarter-deck,  a humiliating  treaty.  He 
bound  himself  to  make  indemnities  for  his  extortions  ; to 
surrender  all  his  prisoners  without  ransom,  and  to  re- 
nounce all  claim  for  tribute  from  the  American  govern- 
ment, as  well  as  his  barbarous  practice  of  piracy  and  re- 
ducing prisoners  to  slavery. 

Decatur  proceeded  immediately  to  Tunis  and  Tripoli, 
where  he  demanded  and  received  indemnity  for  some 
American  vessels,  at  whose  captures,  in  their  harbors,  by 
the  English,  they  had  connived.  Thus,  in  a few  w^eeks, 
these  barbarians  were  taught  a lesson  which  they  have  not 
yet  forgotten.  When  Bainbridge  arrived,  he  found  all 
the  difficulties  arranged.  The  united  navy,  consisting  of 


CHAP. 

XLV. 


1815. 


May. 


• nne 
1 0. 


686 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


fourteen  vessels,  visited  the  principal  ports  of  the  Medi- 

. terranean.  Their  victories  over  the  mistress  of  the  ocean. 

1815.  secured  them  treatment  manifesting  high  respect. 

The  autumn  following  the  close  of  the  war,  a great 
council  of  the  North-western  Indian  tribes  was  held,  at 
which  they  made  peace  with  each  other.  Afterward  they 
all  made  peace  with  the  United  States.  Thus  apprehen- 
Sept.  sions  of  future  Indian  hostilities  were  removed. 

The  war  left  the  finances  of  the  country  in  a very 
confused  state.  The  banks  in  existence,  except  those  in 
New  England,  were  unable  to  redeem  their  notes  in  specie, 
and  confidence  in  their  promises  to  pay  was  wanting.  The 
national  debt,  in  consequence  of  the  war,  was  known  to  be 
more  than  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  In  order  to 
remove  some  of  the  burdens  resting  upon  the  people,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  A.  J.  Dallas,  proposed  to  remit 
some  of  the  internal  taxes,  which  had  been  levied  during 
the  last  few  years.  Instead  of  which  he  advised  the  im- 
position of  duties  on  imports,  not  merely  to  secure  a revenue, 
but  also  to  protect  the  manufactures  which  had  sprung 
into  existence  during  the  war.  The  President  likewise,  in 
his  annual  message,  urged  the  adoption  of  such  a policy. 

To  aid  in  rectifying  the  financial  disorders  in  the 
1817.  country,  Congress  chartered,  for  twenty  years,  a National 
^r*  Bank,  with  a capital  of  thirty-five  millions  of  dollars.  It 
commenced  operations  at  Philadelphia,  and,  in  connection 
with  its  branches  in  other  States,  afforded  the  people  a uni- 
form currency  redeemable  at  all  times  with  gold  and 'silver. 

A bill  designed  to  compel  the  local  banks  to  pay 
specie  was  passed,  ordering  that  all  dues  to  the  government 
should  be  paid  in  gold  and  silver,  or  “ in  treasury  notes, 
notes  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  or  in  notes  of  banks 
payable  and  paid  on  demand  in  specie/' 

The  Territory  of  Indiana  having  adopted  a constitu- 
ent. tion,  presented  herself  for  admission  into  the  Union,  and 
was  received. 


FITCH — FULTON THE  FIRST  STEAMBOAT. 


687 


John  Fitch,  an  uneducated  watchmaker  of  Philadel- 

phia,  conceived  the  design  of  propelling  boats  by  steam.  

He  applied  to  Congress  for  assistance,  hut,  unfortunately,  1785. 
was  refused  ; then,  with  a similar  result,  he  applied  to  the 
Spanish  authorities  of  Louisiana.  Some  years  later  he 
found  means  to  construct  a boat,  and  to  make  a trial  trip 
on  the  Delaware.  The  boat  went  at  the  rate  of  eight 
miles  an  hour,  but  unfortunately  the  boiler  exploded.  One 
disaster  followed  another,  and  poor  John  Fitch  died,  the 
victim  of  disappointment,  but  full  of  faith  that  others 
would  yet  perfect  his  invention  : he  desired  to  be  buried 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  that  boats  propelled  by  steam 
might  pass  near  his  last  resting  place.  In  less  than 
twenty  years  after  his  death  the  steamer  Clermont  passed 
up  the  Hudson  from  New  York  to  Albany. 

The  Clermont  was  the  work  of  Robert  Fulton,  a native 
of  Pennsylvania,  once  a pupil  of  West,  the  painter.  He 
had  a decided  turn  for  mechanics,  and  had  studied  the  sub- 
ject many  years  in  Europe,  where  he  received  pecuniary 
aid  and  encouragement  from  Robert  R.  Livingston,  then 
American  minister  at  Paris. 

To  American  enterprise  is  due  the  honor  of  launching 
the  first  steamboat  and  the  first  Ocean  steamer — the 
Savannah — that  crossed  the  Atlantic.  She  left  New  York,  1818 
went  to  Savannah,  and  thence  to  Europe,  where  she  was 
an  object  of  great  interest.  Twenty  years  later  the  ApjjjjJ 
British  steamer  Great  Western  came  to  New  York  in 
fourteen  days. 

Madison’s  Administration,  so  full  of  important  events, 
drew  to  a close.  James  Monroe,  also  from  Virginia,  had 
been  elected  his  successor,  and  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  of 
New  York,  Vice-President.  The  latter  had  been  Governor 
of  that  State,  and  in  that  capacity  been  most  efficient 
in  aiding  the  country  in  the  war  just  closed.  At  one  time 
he  sustained  the  garrison  of  the  city  by  his  own  private 
credit. 


CHAPTEK  XLVI. 

MONROE’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

A Return  to  the  earlier  Policy  of  the  Government. — The  President  s Toui 
in  the  Eastern  States. — The  Colonization  Society. — Revolutions  in  the 
Spanish  Colonies. — Indian  War;  the  Seminoles. — General  Jackson  in 
the  Field. — Purchase  of  Florida. — The  Missouri  Compromise. — Manu- 
factures.— Increase  of  Tariff. — Yisit  of  Lafayette. 


chap.  Since  the  close  of  the  war,  party  distinctions  were  fast 
XL^  L losing  their  influence.  In  the  minds  of  the  great  majority 
1617.  of  the  people,  names  were  giving  place  to  ideas.  The  na- 
tion was  prepared  for  the  quiet  revival  of  the  leading  prin- 
ciples of  Washington's  administration.  The  people  had 
not  in  so  many  words  thus  formally  decided; — hut  to  return 
to  the  policy  of  the  earlier  days  of  the  Government  seemed 
the  only  means  to  remedy  existing  evils,  and  to  guard 
against  their  recurrence  in  the  future.  This  may  be  said 
in  relation  to  the  revenue  as  arising  from  commerce,  the 
finances,  the  policy  toward  foreign  nations,  and  in  the 
means  of  national  defence  both  by  sea  and  land, 
klar.  The  new  President  in  his  inaugural  fully  indorsed  these 
doctrines,  and  they  were  echoed  and  re-echoed  throughout 
the  land  as  the  true  policy,  while  some  of  the  old  Repub- 
licans characterized  them  as  being  veritable  Federalism 
under  another  name.  The  President  pointed  to  the  ex- 
perience of  the  nation  in  the  last  struggle,  and  unhesi- 
tatingly advised  not  only  fortifications  on  the  coast  with 
garrisons,  but  a navy  strong  enough  to  maintain  the  dig* 


THE  PRESIDENT’S  TOUR COLONIZATION  SOCIETY. 


689 


nity  and  neutrality  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  pro- 
tect commerce  ; he  also  recommended  that  a knowledge 
of  naval  and  military  science  should  be  kept  up.  In  ad- 
dition, that  domestic  manufactures  be  protected  by  im- 
posts on  foreign  merchandise,  and  also,  internal  improve- 
ments he  aided  by  the  national  government,  if  such  ex- 
penditure was  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  Con- 
stitution. 

Though  professing  to  he  much  gratified  that  the  party 
spirit  lately  so  rampant  was  allayed,  the  President  took 
good  care  to  appoint  none  but  his  most  devoted  adherents 
to  the  offices  within  his  gift.  John  Quincy  Adams  was 
recalled  from  the  court  of  St.  James  to  become  Secretary 
of  State.  The  other  members  of  his  cabinet  were  Wil- 
liam H.  Crawford  of  Georgia,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ; 
Crowningshield  of  Massachusetts,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ; 
John  C.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War,  and  William  Wirt, 
Attorney-General. 

The  President,  some  months  after  his  inauguration, 
made  a tour  through  the  Eastern  States.  The  sentiments 
of  his  address  had  become  diffused,  and  prepared  the  way 
for  his  receiving  a warm  reception  in  the  Federal  town  of 
Boston,  and  throughout  New  England  generally.  It  was 
enthusiastically  proclaimed  that  the  people  were  once 
more  to  be  harmonious  in  their  views  of  national  policy. 

During  the  following  session  of  Congress  the  American 
Colonization  Society  was  formed  at  Washington.  It  was 
designed  to  provide  a home  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
United  States  for  the  free  people  of  color  who  should  de- 
sire to  emigrate.  The  condition  of  these  people  in  the 
slaveholding  States,  as  well  as  the  laws  in  some  of  the 
others,  that  forbade  their  settling  within  their  borders,  led 
to  the  formation  of  the  Society.  The  enterprise  was 
ardently  advocated  by  Henry  Clay,  Judge  Washington, 
John  Ttandolph,  and  other  southern  statesmen.  This  So- 


CHAP. 
XL  VI. 


1817 


G30 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP 

XLYI. 


1817 


Nov. 

SO. 


ciety  established  the  now  flourishing  Colony  of  Liberia  on 
the  west  coast  of  Africa. 

The  influence  of  the  Revolution  had  not  been  without 
effect  upon  other  nations.  The  Spanish  colonies  of  South 
America  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  the  mother  country, 
and  declared  themselves  independent.  Under  the  pre- 
tence of  having  commissions  from  these  new  Republics, 
a company  of  adventurers,  principally  drawn  from  Charles- 
ton and  Savannah,  seized  Amelia  Island,  off  the  harbor 
of  St.  Augustine.  These  worthies  soon  began  to  smuggle 
merchandise  and  slaves  into  the  United  States.  Yet,  as 
a cloak  to  their  deeds,  they  proclaimed  they  were  block- 
ading the  port  of  St.  Augustine.  A similar  haunt  for 
buccaneers  had  existed  for  some  time  at  Galveston  in 
Texas.  Both  these  establishments  were  broken  up  by 
order  of  the  United  States  Government. 

The  condition  of  the  South  American  republics  excited 
great  sympathy  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  Some  were 
advocates  for  giving  them  aid,  while  others  were  anxious 
that  Congress  should,  at  least,  acknowledge  their  independ- 
ence. In  defiance  of  the  President's  proclamation  to  the 
contrary,  cruisers,  bearing  the  flag  of  these  Republics,  were 
fitted  out  in  some  of  the  ports  of  the  United  States  to 
prey  upon  Spanish  commerce. 

These  difficulties,  combined  with  other  causes,  led  to 
a new  Indian  war  in  the  South.  Numbers  of  Seminoles, 
refugee  Creeks,  and  runaway  negroes,  living  in  the  Span- 
ish Territory,  south  of  Flint  river,  began  to  pillage  the- 
Georgia  settlements  north  of  that  river.  General  Gaines, 
who  was  in  command  at  the  nearest  fort,  demanded  that 
these  murderers  and  robbers  should  be  given  up.  The 
Indians  refused,  on  the  ground  that  they  were  not  the  ag- 
gressors. Soon  after  a collision  occurred,  in  which  several 
Indians  were  killed.  Their  death  was  terribly  revenged 
upon  the  people  on  board  a boat  ascending  the  Apalachi- 


JACKSON  SUBDUES  THE  INDIANS — PURCHASE  OF  FLORIDA.  691 

cola,  with  supplies  for  Fort  Scott.  More  thau  forty  per-  chap 

sons,  consisting  of  men,  women,  and  children,  were  mas-  

sacred.  The  War  Department  ordered  General  Jackson  1817. 
to  invade  the  Indian  Territory,  and  “ bring  the  war  to  a 
speedy  and  effectual  close.”  In  three  months  he  was  on 
the  ground,  with  an  army  composed  of  Georgians  and 
Tennesseeans.  He  moved  to  the  vicinity  of  where  Talla- 
hassee now  stands  ; the  savages  made  little  resistance,  but 
abandoned  their  towns,  and  their  cattle  and  grain.  With 
his  usual  energy,  Jackson  pressed  on,  and,  without  cere- 
mony, seized  St.  Mark’s,  on  Appalachee  Bay,  the  only  Mar. 
Spanish  fort  in  that  part  of  Florida,  on  the  ground  that 
its  officers  were  aiding  and  abetting  the  Indians  in  their 
hostilities  to  the  United  States.  One  of  the  American 
armed  vessels  on  the  coast  hoisted  British  colors,  and  two 
of  the  hostile  Creek  chiefs  were  decoyed  on  board.  These 
chiefs  Jackson  unceremoniously  hanged.  On  one  of  the  April 
incursions  against  the  enemy,  two  British  subjects,  Bobert 
C.  Ambrister  and  Alexander  Arbuthnot,  traders  among 
the  Indians,  were  taken  prisoners.  These  two  men  were 
put  on  trial  for  their  lives  before  a court-martial,  on  the 
charge  of  aiding  the  Indians.  They  were  found  guilty 
and  sentenced  to  death,  and  immediately  executed.  The 
measure  was  much  censured  as  unnecessary  and  unwar- 
ranted. Notwithstanding  the  protest  of  the  Spanish 
governor  against  his  invasion  of  Florida,  Jackson  soon  ap- 
peared before  Pensacola,  which  place  surrendered.  The 
governor  in  the  mean  time  fled  to  a fort  further  down  the  May 
bay,  and  finally  to  Havana. 

These  arbitrary  proceedings  were  protested  against  by 
Don  Onis,  the  Spanish  Minister  at  Washington.  The 
matter  however  was  not  pressed,  as  negotiations  were  soon 
after  entered  upon  to  purchase  the  territory  in  dispute. 

American  citizens  had  claims  amounting  to  five  mil- 
lions of  dollars  against  the  Spanish  government.  Don 
Onis  received  instructions  from  home,  that  authorized 


692 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


€HAP. 
XL  VI. 


1821. 


1787. 


1790. 


1319 

Feb. 

16. 


him  to  cede  Florida  to  the  United  States  for  these  claims 
The  purchase  was  thus  made,  the  American  Government 
assuming  the  debt.  Two  years  later  Spain  ratified  the 
Treaty.  Florida  was  then  organized  as  a Territory,  and 
General  Jackson  was  appointed  its  first  Governor. 

The  American  people  have  never  been  indifferent  to 
the  political  as  well  as  the  moral  aspects  of  slavery. 
From  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  till  the  time  of 
which  we  write,  the  conscience  and  the  sympathy  of  the 
religious  portion  of  the  nation,  both  North  and  South, 
found  their  expression  on  the  subject  in  memorials  ad- 
dressed to  their  ecclesiastical  assemblies,  whose  resolutions 
in  reply  condemned  the  system. 

The  Continental  Congress  legislated  specially  on  the 
subject  in  adopting  the  ordinance  by  which  the  region 
north  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  was  conse- 
crated to  freedom.  During  the  second  session  of  the  First 
Congress,  petitions  were  presented  to  that  body,  praying 
it  to  take  measures  to  free  the  nation  of  the  system.  The 
committee  to  whom  these  memorials  were  referred,  re- 
ported that  Congress  was  not  authorized  by  the  Constitu- 
tion to  interfere  with  slavery  as  existing  in  the  individual 
States.  In  accordance  with  this  view,  that  body  has  ever 
acted,  when  disposing  of  the  numerous  memorials  on  the 
subject  that  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  presented  to  it. 

The  Northern  States,  for  a quarter  of  a century,  had 
been  gradually  freeing  themselves  of  the  institution,  or 
making  provision  to  that  effect,  while  in  the  Southern 
States  a different  sentiment  had  been  on  the  increase. 
The  acquisition  of  Louisiana  had  given  to  them  a vast 
region  in  which  slave  labor  was  profitable,  especially  in 
the  cultivation  of  cotton.  These  antagonist  opinions 
were  suddenly  brought  into  collision,  and  a strong  sectional 
feeling  was  elicited. 

The  territory  of  Missouri  asked  permission  to  form  a 


DEBATES  ON  THE  RESTRICTION  OF  SLAVERY. 


693 


constitution,  preparatory  to  her  admission  into  the  Union  chap. 

as  a State.  When  the  question  was  before  the  House  of  

Bepresentatives,  James  W.  Tallmadge,  a member  from  1319 
New  York,  proposed  to  insert  a clause,  prohibiting  the 
further  introduction  of  slaves  into  the  territory,  and  also 
another  clause  granting  freedom  to  the  children  of  slaves 
already  there,  when  they  should  attain  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  years. 

After  a spirited  debate  both  these  propositions  were 
adopted.  The  day  following  the  passage  of  this  bill  came 
up  a similar  one  to  organize  the  Territory  of  Arkansas. 

This  bill,  after  a strenuous  effort  to  insert  similar  clauses, 
was  finally  passed  without  any  restriction  as  to  slavery. 

The  States  admitted  into  the  Union,  since  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  had  happened  to  come  in  alter- 
nately as  non-slaveholding,  and  as  slaveholding — Y ermont 
and  Kentucky  ; Tennessee  and  Ohio  ; Louisiana  and  In- 
diana ; Mississippi  and  Illinois.  As  Alabama  had  ap- 
plied for  admission  as  a slave  State,  it  was  urged  that 
Missouri  should  be  admitted  as  free.  This  proposition 
soon  lost  its  force  by  the  application  of  Maine,  the  north- 
eastern part  of  Massachusetts,  presenting  herself  to  be 
admitted  as  a free  State.  Here  was  an  offset  to  Alabama, 
leaving  Missouri  to  make  the  next  slave  State. 

In  the  consideration  of  these  bills  the  subject  of 
slavery  restriction  in  the  territories  came  up  for  discussion 
The  members  from  the  Southern  States  insisted  that  any 
restriction  upon  Missouri  would  violate  the  pledge  given 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana,  at  the  time  of  its  pur- 
chase, that  they  should  enjoy  <£  all  the  privileges  of  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  ; ” that  such  a restriction 
would  eventually  interfere  with  State  rights  ; that  the 
citizens  of  slaveholding  States  had  the  right  to  take  their 
property  into  the  territories  of  the  Union.  It  was  urged 
that  it  would  be  an  act  of  humanity  and  a blessing  to 
the  poor  slave,  whose  lot  was  so  hard  in  the  old  exhausted 


694 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN"  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLYI. 


1819. 


States,  to  transfer  him  to  the  fertile  pJains  of  the  west ; 
that  this  would  only  he  the  diffusion  of  the  system,  hut 
not  its  extension,  as  the  number  of  slaves  would  not  be 
increased  thereby  ; and  that  the  prohibition  of  slavery 
would  diminish  emigration  from  the  South  into  the  ter- 
ritories. 

To  these  arguments  it  was  replied  : it  was  true  that 
Congress  was  forbidden  by  the  Constitution  to  interfere 
with  slavery  in  the  original  thirteen  States,  but  that  this 
did  not  apply  to  the  territories.  They  were  the  property 
of  the  Union,  and  Congress  had  the  control  of  their  or- 
ganization. Would  Congress  be  justified  in  spreading 
over  them  an  institution  which  even  its  advocates  on  the 
floor  of  the  house  had  again  and  again  deplored  as  an  evil  ? 

It  was  contended  that  slave  labor  and  free  labor  could 
not  coexist  on  the  same  soil ; and  should  the  introduction 
of  a few  thousands  of  slaves  exclude  millions  of  freemen 
from  the  territories  P 1 

The  debate  was  conducted  with  great  animation, 
mingled  with  much  bitterness,  and  threats  to  dissolve  the 
Union.  The  intense  excitement  was  not  limited  to  the 
National  Legislature  ; it  extended  throughout  the  country, 
and  it  was  by  no  means  diminished  by  the  speeches  made 
on  the  subject  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  nor  by  the  fact, 
which  the  discussion  revealed,  that  during  the  previous 
year  more  than  fourteen  thousand  slaves  had  been  smug- 
gled into  the  United  States,  from  Africa  and  the  West 
Indies. 

The  legislatures  of  some  of  the  Northern  States  ex- 
pressed their  wish  that  slavery  should  not  go  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  while  the  people  held  conventions  and  me- 
morialized Congress.  Opposite  views  were  as  strongly 
expressed  by  some  of  the  Southern  States.  Thus  the 
country  was  agitated  for  nearly  two  years,  and  the  diffi- 


1 The  Debates  in  Congress,  Niles’s  Register,  Vols  16,  17,  and  18. 


THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE. 


695 


culty  was  still  unsettled.  When  the  bill  came  before  the 
Senate,  Jesse  B.  Thomas  of  Illinois  moved  as  an  amend- 
ment, a clause  forbidding  the  introduction  of  slavery  into 
the  Louisiana  Territory  north  of  thirty-six  degrees  and 
thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  and  west  of  the  proposed 
State  of  Missouri.  This  was  the  line  of  the  famous  Mis- 
souri Compromise.  The  House,  however,  would  not  at 
first  agree  to  this  arrangement ; but  finally,  through  means 
of  a committee  of  conference,  Maine  was  admitted,  and 
Missouri,  on  these  conditions,  after  she  should  adopt  a 
constitution. 

The  following  year,  when  the  constitution  of  Missouri 
was  presented  to  Congress,  it  was  found  to  contain  a 
clause  that  prohibited  free  people  of  color  from  settling  in 
the  State.  Though  this  clause  “ was  adopted  for  the 
sake  of  peace — for  the  sake  of  internal  tranquillity — and  to 
prevent  the  agitation  of  the  slave  question,”  1 yet  it  was 
viewed  far  differently  in  Congress,  and  was  the  occasion 
of  opening  the  restriction  question  with  all  its  bitterness. 
The  insertion  of  the  offensive  clause,  under  the  circum- 
stances, seemed  to  manifest  as  little  regard  for  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States,  as  respect  for  the  opinions  of 
those  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery.  The  citizens 
of  any  one  State  were,  by  the  Constitution,  entitled  to 
the  privileges  of  citizens  in  the  other  States.  Free  people 
of  color  were  thus  recognized  in  some  of  the  States,  but 
by  this  clause  they  were  deprived  of  their  rights.  Another 
committee  of  conference,  of  which  Henry  Clay  was  the 
prime  mover,  was  appointed  by  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives.  The  difficulty  was  again  compromised 
by  which  Missouri  was  to  be  admitted  on  the  express  con- 
dition that  she  would  expunge  the  obnoxious  clause,  and 
then  the  President  was  authorized  to  admit  her  by  procla- 
mation. The  Missouri  Legislature  complied,  and  the  fact 


1 Benton’s  Thirty  Years’  View,  Yol.  i.  p.  8. 


CHAP. 

XLVI. 


182a 


696 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLYI. 


1821. 

Aug 


Mar. 

1822. 


was  communicated  to  tlie  President,  who  proclaimed  he* 
admission  to  the  family  of  States.  Thus  the  slavery  agi- 
tation was  allayed  for  a time,  but  the  same  question 
under  different  phases,  has  returned  again  and  again,  and 
will  no  doubt  continue  thus  to  do  till  the  conscience  of 
the  nation  is  fully  satisfied  on  the  subject — for  questions 
involving  the  moral  and  political  relations  of  so  many  mil- 
lions cannot  be  lightly  passed  over. 

A new  interest  was  awakened  in  behalf  of  the  South 
American  Republics.  Great  efforts  had  been  made  by 
Henry  Clay,  during  their  struggle,  to  induce  Congress  to 
acknowledge  their  independence,  but  it  was  then  thought 
premature  ; now  the  bill  was  passed.  The  next  year  the 
President  declared  in  his  message  that  “ as  a principle  the 
American  Continents,  by  the  free  and  independent  posi- 
tion which  they  have  assumed  and  maintained,  are  hence- 
forth not  to  be  considered  as  subjects  for  future  coloniza- 
tion by  any  European  power.”  This  has  since  been 
known  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  though  its  authorship,  it 
would  seem,  belongs  rather  to  his  Secretary  of  State,  John 
Quincy  Adams. 

Great  financial  distress  prevailed  during  this  period 
throughout  the  land.  The  immense  amount  of  foreign, 
especially  English,  merchandise  sent,  at  reduced  prices, 
into  the  country,  paralyzed  its  industry.  These  goods 
were  thus  sent  for  the  express  purpose  of  ruining  the 
American  manufactures,  called  into  existence  by  the 
necessities  of  the  war — an  object  which  they  effectually 
accomplished.  The  distress  of  the  people,  reacted  upon 
the  general  government.  When  they  refused  to  buy,  be- 
cause unable  to  pay,  the  importations  fell  off,  and  as  a 
consequence,  the  revenue  was  so  diminished  that  the 
government,  from  necessity,  resorted  to  loans  in  order  to 
obtain  means  of  defraying  its  current  expenses.  The 
general  distress  was  not  a little  increased  by  the  measures 
of  the  National  Bank.  Indeed  no  confidence  could  be 


THE  VISIT  OF  LAFAYETTE. 


697 


1818. 


placed  in  the  banks  except  those  of  New  England,  which  chap 

redeemed  their  notes  in  specie  when  presented,  while  

those  in  other  parts  of  the  Union  became  bankrupt.  The  1824. 
density  of  the  population  of  the  New  England  States 
enabled  them  to  engage  with  advantage  in  manufactures, 
and  also  in  shipping,  and  the  coasting  trade,  which  was 
especially  profitable.  For  these  reasons  they  withstood 
the  financial  crisis,  while  the  agricultural  and  manufactur- 
ing interests  of  the  other  States  were  overwhelmed. 

The  country,  by  its  own  innate  energy,  began  to  re- 
cover from  these  financial  difficulties.  As  a means  to 
accomplish  that  desirable  object,  an  increase  of  tariff  was 
imposed  on  imported  merchandise,  thus  to  protect  do- 
mestic industry  from  undue  foreign  competition,  to  create 
a diversity  of  pursuits,  and  develop  the  resources  of  the 
nation. 

Congress  also  manifested  its  sense  of  justice  by  mak- 
ing provision  for  the  wants  of  the  surviving  officers  and 
soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  and  for  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  those  deceased. 

The  last  year  of  Monroe's  administration  was  signal- 
ized by  an  event  highly  gratifying  to  the  people,  an  event 
linking  the  past  with  the  present,  the  days  of  conflict  and 
trial  with  the  days  of  peace  and  prosperity.  The  vener- 
able Lafayette  came  to  the  United  States,  the  invited 
guest  of  the  nation.  Around  every  fireside  tradition  had 
fondly  cherished  his  memory,  and  the  people  loved  him  as 
the  noble  and  generous  stranger  who,  in  the  days  of  their 
fathers,  had  sacrificed  his  fortune  and  shed  his  blood  in 
their  country's  cause.  They  vied  with  each  other  in  do- 
ing him  honor.  His  journey  from  State  to  State  was  one 
continued  triumphal  procession;  compared  with  this  sponta- 
neous expression  of  a nation's  gratitude,  how  insignificant 
the  proudest  triumph  of  Roman  consul  or  emperor  1 The 
vessel  designated  to  carry  him  home  was  the  new  frigate 
Brandywine,  a name — given  by  the  new  President,  John 


Mar. 


698 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN-  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 
XL  VI. 


1825. 


Quincy  Adams — that  conveyed  a delicate  compliment,  at 
on  the  hanks  of  that  little  stream  he  was  wounded  in  his 
first  battle  in  the  cause  of  American  freedom.  The 
American  people  wished  to  manifest  still  further  theii 
sense  of  obligation,  and  Congress  conferred  upon  him  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  and  a township  of  land. 

When  the  time  came  to  choose  a successor  to  Monroe — • 
now  in  his  second  term — four  candidates  were  put  in 
nomination  ; John  Quincy  Adams,  Henry  Clay,  General 
Jackson,  and  William  H.  Crawford.  No  one  of  the  can- 
didates received  a majority  of  the  popular  vote,  and  the 
election  devolved  upon  the  House  of  Representatives,  by 
whom  Adams  was  chosen.  John  C.  Calhoun  had  been 
chosen  Vice-President  by  the  popular  vote. 

This  election  gave  the  death-blow  to  the  custom  of 
nominating  candidates  for  the  Presidency  by  a caucus 
held  by  certain  members  of  Congress.  Previous  to  this, 
for  twenty-four  successive  years,  the  candidates  had  been 
thus  nominated,  and  consequently  chosen  from  a single 
State. 


CHAPTER  XLYII. 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS’  ADMINISTRATION. 

Manufactures  and  Internal  Improvements. — Indian  Lands  in  Georgia.— 
Death  of  the  ex-Presidents  Thomas  Jefferson  and  John  Adams. — Free 
Masonry. — Protection  to  American  Industry. — Debates  in  Congress. — 
Presidential  Contest. 


The  new  President  invited  able  and  experienced  men  to 
form  his  cabinet,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Henry  Clay, 
as  Secretary  of  State.  This  administration  was  one  of 
remarkable  prosperity  ; the  nation  was  gradually  advanc- 
ing in  wealth  and  happiness,  gaining  strength  at  home, 
and  securing  more  and  more  of  the  respect  of  nations 
abroad.  Every  branch  of  industry  was  increasing  in  pros- 
perity ; agriculture,  oommerce,  and  manufactures. 

Numerous  companies  had  been  formed  for  the  purpose 
of  making  iron  nails,  and  also  for  the  manufacture  of 
broadcloths,  though  the  latter  were  soon  involved  in  ruin 
by  “ a deluge  of  English  cloths.”  In  those  days  fine  wool 
was  worth  a dollar  and  a half  a pound,  while  badly  made 
broadcloth  cost  from  eight  to  twelve  dollars  a yard. 

The  wars  of  Europe  opened  a wide  field  for  enterprise 
in  the  carrying  trade.  American  genius  and  art  produced 
the  style  of  ship  known  as  the  clipper.  These  far  out- 
stripped all  others  in  sailing  ; they  made  rapid  voyages, 
and,  what  was  important  in  those  days,  they  were  able 
very  often  to  evade  the  French  and  English  cruisers.  At 
first,  the  United  States  had  but  little  of  their  own  products 


CHAP. 

XLYII 


1825. 


1815 


700 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  to  send  to  the  old  world,  but  presently  Eli  Whitney  in- 

vented  the  cotton-gin,  by  which  the  seed  was  separated 

1793.  from  the  cotton,  and  that  gradually  became  the  most  im- 
portant article  of  export. 

The  great  National  Road — the  work  of  the  General 
Government — extending  across  the  Alleghany  Mountains, 
from  Cumberland,  Maryland,  to  Wheeling,  on  the  Ohio, 
and  to  be  continued  to  the  Mississippi,  had  just  been 
1820.  completed,  at  an  expense  of  one  million  seven  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  It  was  commenced  in  Jefferson’s  ad- 
ministration, and  had  been  fourteen  years  in  building. 
Its  beneficial  effects  upon  the  country  were  very  great,  in 
thus  connecting  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  with  the  seaboard. 

A still  more  important  work  was  also  finished — the 
1825.  Erie  Canal,  uniting  the  Hudson  and  the  waters  of  the 
great  lakes.  It  was  the  work  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  was  completed  after  a labor  of  eight  years.  The  pro- 
ject was  at  first  deemed  visionary  and  impracticable  ; 
but  owing  principally  to  the  energy  of  De  Witt  Clinton, 
privately,  as  well  as  a member  of  the  Legislature  and  as 
Governor,  the  work  was  carried  through.  The  completion 
ind  success  of  these  improvements  encouraged  the  con- 
struction of  others  in  various  parts  of  the  Union — one, 
1832.  the  Ohio  Canal,  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  river.  The 
first  railway  was  the  Quincy,  in  Massachusetts,  designed 
1827.  1°  transport  granite  to  the  sea-shore.  The  first  locomo- 
tive used  in  the  United  States  was  on  the  Hudson  and 
1832.  Mohawk  Railroad. 

A difficult  question  arose  in  relation  to  the  removal  of 
the  Creeks  and  the  Cherokees,  from  their  lands  in  Georgia 
and  Alabama,  to  the  region  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
Georgia  claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  Indians  within  her 
territory.  Originally  claiming  the  region  west  of  her 
1802.  boundary,  she  ceded  it  to  the  United  States,  on  condition 
that  the  latter  should,  by  purchase,  extinguish  the  title 


DEATH  OF  EX-PRESIDENTS  JEFFERSON  AND  ADAMS. 


701 


of  the  Indian  lands  reserved  within  her  own  limits.  The 
national  government  promised  to  fulfil  its  part  of  the 
agreement  “ as  early  as  the  same  could  be  peaceably  ob- 
tained on  reasonable  terms/'  Twenty-five  years  had 
passed,  and  these  titles  had  not  been  purchased.  The 
Indians  were  not  willing  to  sell  their  territory.  However, 
a treaty  had  been  recently  made  by  some  of  the  chiefs, 
who  ceded  the  lands,  but  the  great  majority  of  the  Indians 
declared  these  chiefs  had  no  authority  to  sell  the  property 
of  the  nation.  Thus,  according  to  the  original  contract, 
the  national  government  could  not  extinguish  the  Indian 
titles. 

The  government  cancelled  this  treaty,  but  the  State 
of  Georgia  determined  to  enforce  it.  The  latter  sent  sur- 
veyors into  the  Indian  country,  to  divide  the  lands  into 
portions  suitable  for  farms,  before  distributing  them  by 
lottery  to  the  citizens  of  the  State.  The  Federal  govern- 
ment took  the  part  of  the  poor  Indians,  and  the  President 
proclaimed  that  he  would  enforce  the  laws  committed  to 
his  trust,  while  Troup,  the  bellicose  Governor  of  Georgia, 
wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War  : “From  the  first  decisive 
act  of  hostility,  you  will  be  considered  and  treated  as  a 
public  enemy/'  The  matter  for  the  present  was  adjusted 
by  the  Creeks  consenting  to  dispose  of  their  lands,  and  to 
emigrate.  Rather  than  be  thus  harassed  they  were  will- 
ing tc  remove  from  their  happy  homes,  and  give  up  their 
hopes  of  civilization. 

This  year  was  marked  by  the  deaths  of  two  dis 
tingulshed  men,  whose  names  are  identified  with  the 
history  of  the  government — John  Adams  and  Thomas 
Jefferson.  Both  were  men  of  liberal  education,  and  both 
chose  the  profession  of  the  law  ; both  had  been  consistent 
and  strenuous  advocates  of  national  independence,  and 
were  upon  the  committee  which  proposed  that  famous 
declaration.  The  one  drew  it  up,  and  the  other  was  its 
most  efficient  supporter  ; both  signed  it  ; both  had  been 


CHAP 

XLVII 


1825 


702 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS'  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 
XL  VII. 


1826. 


Sept. 


July, 

1827 


on  foreign  missions  ; both  were  first  Vice-Piesidents,  an  I 
then  became  Presidents.  “ They  ended  their  earthly 
career  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  way  ; in  the 
regular  course  of  nature,  in  the  repose  and  tranquillity  of 
retirement,  in  the  bosoms  of  their  families,  on  the  soil 
which  their  labors  had  contributed  to  make  free,”  and 
within  a few  hours  of  each  other,  on  the  fiftieth  anniver 
sary  of  American  independence. 

A certain  William  Morgan,  of  Western  New  Zork,  a 
member  of  the  society  of  Free  Masons,  suddenly  disap- 
peared, he  having  been  seized  and  forcibly  carried  off. 
He  had  proposed  to  publish  a book  revealing  the  secrets 
of  the  order,  some  of  whose  members  were  charged  with  his 
murder.  The  affair  created,  a great  excitement,  which  led 
to  the  formation  of  a political  party,  whose  avowed  object 
was  to  exclude  Free  Masons  from  office.  In  several  of 
the  States  the  party  polled  a large  number  of  votes,  but 
in  a year  or  two  it  disappeared. 

The  manufacturing  interests  were  still  laboring  to  sus- 
tain themselves  against  foreign  competition.  The  senti- 
ment prevailed,  especially  in  the  northern  States  and  in 
some  of  the  southern,  that  measures  should  be  taken  to 
protect  the  industry  of  the  nation.  In  accordance  with 
this  view,  a convention  of  delegates  from  twenty-two 
States  of  the  Union  assembled  at  Harrisburg,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. Four  of  the  slave  States  did  not  send  delegates. 

The  Convention  memorialized  Congress  to  grant  pro- 
tection to  American  industry  ; to  impose  a tariff  on  im- 
ported goods,  sufficiently  high  to  shield  American  pro- 
ducer’s of  the  same  articles  from  the  ruinous  effects  of 
foreign  competition  ; and  they  also  asked  that  this  policy 
should  be  fixed,  and  thus  give  stability  to  the  enterprise 
of  the  country.  Capital  would  not  be  invested  in  domes- 
tic manufactures,  if  they  were  liable  at  any  time  to  be 
ruined  either  by  the  combination  of  foreign  competitor? 


THE  TARIFF — DEBATES  IN  CONGRESS. 


703 


or  by  change  of  policy  at  home.  The  people  of  New 
England  had  complained  of  these  changes.  Their  climate 
and  soil  forbade  their  becoming  rivals  of  their  sister  States 
in  agriculture,  and  their  industry  had  been  turned  into 
other  channels,  especially  those  of  commerce  and  the 
fisheries.  Upon  them  had  fallen  nearly  all  the  losses 
inflicted  by  the  cruisers  of  France  and  England,  and  yet 
they  had  been  more  discouraged  and  had  suffered  more 
loss  by  the  embargoes  and  other  restrictions  of  their  own 
government.  During  this  period,  the  central  position  of 
New  York  had  been  gradually  drawing  to  herself  much  of 
the  commerce  and  shipping  that  once  belonged  to  Boston. 
A territory  so  extensive,  and  climates  so  diverse,  brought 
into  existence  many  kinds  of  industry  that  were  liable  to 
be  injured  or  ruined  by  foreign  competition.  At  first 
New  England  was  opposed  to  the  policy  of  protection, 
and  the  Middle  and  Southern  States  were  in  its  favor. 
Now  this  was  reversed.  New  England  had  been  forced 
to  adapt  her  industry  to  the  change  of  national  policy, 
while  the  South  had  changed  her  views. 

Said  Webster,  when  this  bill  was  under  discussion  in 
Congress  : “New  England  held  back  and  labored  to  re- 
strain the  General  Government  from  the  adoption  of  this 
policy,  but  when  it  was  adopted  she  then  adapted  herself 
to  it,  and  turned  herself  to  manufactures,  but  now  just  as 
she  is  successful,  another  change  is  to  be  brought  about, 
and  she  set  adrift  in  another  direction.” 

The  South,  on  the  other  hand,  expected  to  reap  the 
harvest,  not  merely  from  the  exports  of  the  raw  material, 
but  also  a due  share  of  the  profits  arising  from  manu- 
factures. She  was  disappointed  in  seeing  northern  towns 
becoming  cities,  and  southern  cities  decaying  ; the  North 
a money  lender,  the  South  a borrower.  Before  the  Revo- 
lution she  was  pre-eminently  the  richest  part  of  the 
colonies,  a position  which  she  fully  expected  to  retain 
after  that  period.  Hers  were  the  only  exports  from  the 


CHAP. 

XLVII. 

1S28. 


704 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLYII 


1828. 


May 

15. 


land  ; the  North  was  dependent  upon  commerce  and  fish- 
eries ; both  precarious.  Since  the  Revolution,  the  South 
had  exported  more  in  value  than  three  times  all  that  the 
mines  of  Mexico  had  produced  for  the  same  period,  yet 
she  did  not  prosper.  This  effect  she  attributed  to  the 
protective  tariffs  of  the  National  Government.  She  failed 
to  notice  that  this  decline  began  before  these  tariffs  were 
imposed.  Other  causes  aided  in  the  result.1  A bill 
passed  Congress,  imposing  higher  duties  upon  cottons  and 
woollens,  and  also  other  foreign  articles,  which  would  come 
into  competition  with  those  of  domestic  origin.  The  dis- 
satisfaction felt  in  South  Carolina  led,  two  years  after,  to 
the  open  avowal  on  her  part,  of  the  doctrine  of  nullifica- 
tion and  secession,  based  upon  the  ground  that  the  act 
was  unconstitutional. 

The  contest  for  the  office  of  President  was  between 
Adams  and  General  Jackson.  The  “ era  of  good  feeling” 
had  passed  away,  and  party  lines  were  stringently  drawn. 
The  spirit  of  the  contest  was  more  violent  than  ever  be- 
fore ; and  the  whole  nation  seemed  moved  to  its  very 
centre.  The  denunciation  of  the  candidates  and  their 
principles  was,  on  both  sides,  unjust,  unreasonable  and 
disgraceful.  The  choice  fell  upon  Jackson  as  President, 
and  Calhoun  as  Vice-President.  The  election  over,  the 
excitement  calmed  down.  This  fact,  as  usual,  was  ad- 
duced as  an  evidence  of  the  stability  of  our  institutions, 
and  of  the  willingness  of  the  people  to  submit  to  the  will 
of  the  majority.  Yet  who  does  not  lament  such  exhi- 
bitions of  party  strife,  or  their  demoralizing  effects  ? 

The  nation  had  never  been  in  a condition  so  pros- 
perous as  at  this  time.  The  national  debt  was  much 
diminished,  and  a surplus  of  more  than  five  millions 
of  dollars  was  in  the  public  treasury.  The  blessings 
of  peace  had  been  showered  upon  the  land,  and  it  was 
rejoicing  in  prosperity  and  abundance — the  rewards  of 
active  industry. 

1 Rendon’s  Thirty  Years’  View,  Chap.  xxxiv..  Yol.  L 


CHAPTER  XL VIII. 


JACKSON’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Appointments  to  Office. — Removal  of  tne  Indians  from  Georgia. — Bank  of 
the  United  States. — Hayne  and  Webster’s  Debate. — Nullification. — The 
Compromise  Bill  ; its  final  Passage. — Removal  of  the  Deposits.— 
Effect  upon  the  Country. — Indian  Wars. — Black  Hawk  ; Osceola. — In- 
demnity for  French  Spoliations. 


The  new  President  nominated  the  members  of  his  cabi-  chaf. 

xLvm 

net,  at  the  head  of  which  he  placed  Martin  Van  Buren 

as  Secretary  of  State.  The  Postmaster-General  was  now  1829. 
for  the  first  time  admitted  as  a Cabinet  Officer. 

The  President  professed  to  take  the  Constitution  as 
the  chart  by  which  he  should  be  governed  in  fulfilling  the 
duties  of  his  office  ; rather,  it  would  seem,  as  he  himself 
understood  it,  than  as  expounded  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  His  vigorous  arm  was  immediately 
exerted  in  favor  of  his  political  friends,  and  this  gave  to 
his  administration  a decided  partisan  character.  The 
former  Presidents,  during  a period  of  forty-four  years,  had 
removed  sixty-four  persons  from  office  ; during  his  rule 
of  eight  years,  Jackson  removed  six  hundred  and  ninety, 
and  put  in  their  places  his  political  friends.  These  sweep- 
ing removals  secured  ardent  partisans,  as  well  as  produced 
bitter  opponents  ; but  regardless  of  either  friend  or  foe, 
the  President  pursued  the  course  he  had  marked  out,  with 
his  wonted  determination. 


706 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLVHL 


1829. 


1833 


During  his  administration,  an  unusual  number  of  ex* 
citing  questions  came  up  for  consideration,  and  the  many 
interests  thus  involved  affected  the  people  in  every  State 
in  the  Union.  The  first  important  measure,  was  the  re- 
moval of  the  Cherokee  Indians  from  the  State  of  Georgia. 
They  had  been  protected  by  the  General  Government, 
under  Adams,  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
had  decided  in  their  favor,  and  against  the  action  of  the 
State  ; hut  that  decision  had  little  influence  with  the 
President.  He  did  not  rebuke  the  State,  when  she  be- 
gan to  drive  them  from  their  homes,  and  to  distribute 
their  lands,  many  of  them  cultivated  farms,  among  hei 
own  citizens.  He  sent  General  Scott  with  troops  to  re- 
move them,  and  his  kindness  and  persuasions  induced 
them  to  migrate  peacefully  ; yet  with  lamentations,  they 
took  leave  of  “ the  beloved  land/' 

Their  sacrifices  as  a people  were  very  great,  not  only 
in  the  loss  of  property,  but  in  the  check  given  to  their 
industrial  and  moral  progress.  The  self-denying  labors 
of  missionaries  and  teachers  had  enabled  them  to  advance 
rapidly  toward  a Christianized  civilization.  They  derived 
their  sustenance  from  their  own  cultivated  fields  ; they 
clothed  themselves  almost  entirely  with  the  fabrics  which 
their  women  spun  and  wove  ; they  lived  in  settled  habi- 
tations, some  of  wood  and  some  of  brick  ; they  made 
provision  for  the  education  of  their  children — five  hun- 
dred of  whom  were  in  schools — besides  endowing  a Na- 
tional Academy  for  the  youth  further  advanced.  They 
also  established  a newspaper,  printed  partly  in  English, 
and  partly  in  their  own  language.  a We  hope,”  said 
they,  u that  with  God’s  blessing  the  time  will  soon  come 
when  the  words  war-whoop  and  scalping-knife  will  be 
heard  no  more.” 

Two  of  their  missionaries,  the  Rev.  S.  A.  Worcester 
and  Dr.  Elisur  Butler,  were  ruthlessly  imprisoned  in  the 
penitentiary  by  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Georgia, 


CAUSES  OF  NULLIFICATION. 

though  they  acted  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  the  land, 
as  interpreted  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
in  refusing  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  State. 

Chief  Justice  Marshall,  in  pronouncing  the  opinion 
of  the  court,  declared  the  act  of  the  State  to  be  “ repug- 
nant to  the  Constitution,  treaties  and  laws  of  the  United 
States ; and  therefore  void,  and  ought  to  be  reversed  and 
annulled,”  and  the  prisoners  discharged.  Yet  these  men 
obtained  no  redress  on  their  appeal  to  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, either  for  themselves  or  the  Indians. 

When  at  length  liberated  from  prison,  the  mission- 
aries accompanied  the  Indians  to  their  distant  homes 
beyond  the  Mississippi,  there  to  labor  for  their  good. 

The  President,  in  his  first  message  to  Congress,  inti- 
mated his  hostility  to  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and 
his  design  of  refusing  his  signature  to  any  bill  renewing 
its  charter. 

However,  when  the  stockholders  of  the  Bank  applied 
to  Congress,  a bill  to  renew  its  charter  passed  both  Houses, 
and  the  President  refused  to  sign  it.  He  gave  as  a 
reason  his  opinion  that  Congress  had  no  constitutional 
authority  to  charter  such  an  institution,  and  moreover  he 
deemed  it  inexpedient  to  continue  the  Bank. 

As  the  bill  could  not  obtain  the  requisite  two-thirds 
vote  to  become  a law,  the  Bank  was  forced  to  close  its 
affairs,  when  its  charter  should  expire. 

To  understand  the  causes  which  led  to  the  attempt  at 
Nullification  by  South  Carolina  it  is  necessary,  for  the 
reader’s  convenience,  to  notice  in  a consecutive  form  cer- 
tain influences  that  had  been  at  work  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  government  under  the  Presidency  of 
George  Washington.  When  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  was  submitted  to  the  people  for  their 
approval  or  rejection,  objections  were  made  to  it  by  a 
small  minority,  principally  on  the  ground  that  its  powers 


707 

CHAP. 

XLYIII. 

1829. 


1836, 


1788. 


708 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLYIII. 


1787. 


were  too  great  over  the  States.  This  minority  consisted 
mostly  of  statesmen  belonging  to  Virginia,  two  of 
whose  delegates  to  the  convention  to  frame  the  Consti- 
tution refused  to  sign  it  when  finished.  These  were 
Edmund  Randolph  and  George  Mason,  with  only  one 
other,  Elbridge  Gerry  of  Massachusetts.  These  gentle- 
men, and  those  who  sympathized  with  them  in  their 
views,  made  strenuous  efforts  in  several  of  the  States  to 
prevent  the  acceptance  of  the  Constitution  by  the  people, 
nor  even  after  it  was  adopted  and  the  Government  in- 
augurated did  they  cease  in  their  opposition,  though 
they  were  unable  to  have  the  organic  law  of  the  nation 
changed  to  suit  their  views.  They  were  now  joined  by 
the  most  efficient  opponent  of  certain  principles  of  the 
Constitution — Thomas  Jefferson — who  had  been  in  France 
on  official  duties  while  the  Constitution  was  being  framed 
and  acted  upon  by  the  votes  of  the  people ; but  he  had 
since  returned,  having  been  invited  by  President  "Wash- 
ington to  enter  his  Cabinet  as  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Affairs  or  of  State,  which  office  he  was  now  holding. 

The  Constitution  says  (Article  VI.)  : “ This  Constitu- 
tion, and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be 
made  in  pursuance  thereof,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of 
the  land.”  Some  of  the  States,  in  order  to  establish  a 
National  Government,  were  unwilling  to  give  up  scarcely 
any  portion  of  the  sovereignty  which  they  had  hitherto 
exercised.1  This  was  especially  the  case  in  the  South- 
ern States — Virginia,  the  principal  one,  taking  the  lead. 
This  opposition  in  later  times  developed  into  extreme 
mews  in  relation  to  State  Rights  or  Sovereignty,  whose 
insidious  influence  has  wrought  so  much  harm  to  the 
Nation,  in  assuming  that  in  some  way,  though  indefinable, 
the  General.  Government  would  injure  the  individual 
States.  The  advocates  of  this  theory — “ strict  construe- 


1 Hist.,  pp.  564,  565. 


OBLIGATIONS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION. 


709 


tionists”  they  called  themselves — were  morbidly  suspi- 
cious of  the  National  Government,  and  were  continually 
deprecating  its  influence  upon  the  States.  In  accordance 
with  their  interpretation,  the  Constitution  would  be  as  in- 
flexible as  a cast-iron  frame  ; no  permission  was  given  for 
that  instrument — so  comprehensive  in  its  principles — to 
adapt  itself  to  the  exigencies  of  a nation  industrious  and 
progressive  in  its  development.  Hence  the  habit  of 
these  theorists  to  exclaim  u Unconstitutional !”  wdienever 
measures  were  proposed  in  Congress  that  would  in  their 
influence  extend  to  the  States ; for  that  body  to  charter 
a bank  was  deemed  unconstitutional,  because,  perhaps, 
in  being  useful  to  the  general  commerce  and  the  indus- 
tries of  the  country,  it  must  have  branches  at  commercial 
centers  within  the  States.  Their  views  were  similar  in 
respect  to  internal  improvements  made  by  the  National 
Government. 

On  the  subject  of  the  United  States  Bank  the  opposi- 
tion in  this  respect  came  principally  from  Virginia  and 
those  States  further  south ; they  being  nearly  altogether 
agricultural,  there  was  not  so  much  necessity  for  a 
medium  of  mercantile  exchange  as  in  the  more  commer- 
cial and  manufacturing  free  States. 

We  have  already  seen  Thomas  Jefferson1  secretly 
exerting  his  influence  against  the  policy  of  W ashington’s 
administration,  and  to  which  he  was  presumed  to  be 
friendly,  at  least,  while  holding  the  most  important  posi- 
tion in  the  Cabinet — that  of  Secretary  of  State.  Instead, 
he  encouraged  opposition  to  its  most  important  measures, 
which,  from  their  intrinsic  merits,  have  since  become  the 
fixed  policy  of  the  nation.  ITe  stimulated  this  antago- 
nism in  various  ways,  but  principally  by  diffusing  his  sen- 
timents privately  in  letters  to  his  friends,  under  pledges 
of  secrecy,  and  by  means  of  the  Democratic  clubs,  whose 


CHAP. 

XLYIII. 


1832. 


1801. 


1 Hist.,  pp.  581,  584. 


710 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLVIII. 


1801. 


origin  has  been  noted.1  Though  Vice-President  at  the 
time,  Jefferson  was  not  in  perfect  accord  with  the  policy 
of  John  Adams’s  administration,  in  its  efforts  to  defend 
the  country  against  the  machinations  of  foreign  refugees,2 
who,  with  the  clubs,  wished  to  embroil  the  country  in 
the  wars  then  in  progress  in  Europe.  Says  Albert  Galla- 
tin, when  writing  of  this  period,  “ I know  that  nothing 
can  be  more  injurious  to  an  administration  than  to  have 
in  that  office  [Vice-Presidency]  a man  in  hostility  to  that 
administration,  as  he  will  always  become  the  most  for- 
midable rallving-point  for  the  opposition.” 3 

At  one  time  Jefferson  was  greatly  exercised  lest  the 
Government  should  become  a monarchy;  and  some  of 
his  friends  professed  to  be  alarmed  because  the  people 
honored  Washington’s  birthday,  but  he  soothingly  sug- 
gested the  theory  that,  perhaps,  the  day  was  celebrated 
as  that  of  “ a General  and  not  of  a President.”  Yet  he 
was  desponding ; in  one  of  his  letters  he  says,  “ The 
State  governments  are  the  best  in  the  world,”  but  that  of 
the  United  States  “has  become  so  arbitrary  in  the  rapid 
course  of  nine  or  ten  years,  and  has  swallowed  up  more 
of  the  public  liberty  than  even  that  of  England  itself.” 
This  paragraph  alludes  to  what  is  known  as  the  “ Sedi- 
tion Law,”  which  was  enacted  to  punish  libel  on  the 
Government,  or  the  exciting  of  “unlawful  combinations 
against  the  laws.”  This  law, 'which  expired  in  two  years 
by  limitation,  was  directed  in  self-defense  against  a class 
of  foreign  adventurers,  who  as  writers  in  the  newspapers 
were  most  abusive  in  denunciation  of  the  administration 
of  John  Adams,4  which,  in  respect  to  the  policy  of  neu- 
trality, followed  that  of  Washington.  The  law  itself, 
perhaps,  was  injudicious,  and  in  its  brief  existence  could 
do  little  harm,  but  the  political  furor — bordering  on  the 

1 Hist.,  p.  583.  2 Hist.,  p.  594.  3 Life  of  Gallatin,  p.  606. 

4 Hist.,  pp.  592,  593. 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  ’98. 


711 


ridiculous — which  it  occasioned  among  its  opponents  is 
not  paralleled  in  American  history. 

To  remedy  these  supposed  evils,  Jefferson  drew  up  a 
series  of  resolutions  embodying  sentiments  that  have 
been  often  alluded  to  in  our  history  ; these  are  familiarly 
known  as  the  “ Resolutions  of  ’98.”  He  managed  to 
have  them  introduced  into  the  Legislature  of  Virginia, 
and  passed  by  that  body,  though  their  most  objectionable 
features  were  modified  through  the  influence  of  James 
Madison.  In  the  same  secret  manner  he  had  similar 
resolutions  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  the  recently 
admitted  State  of  Kentucky.  This  was  accomplished  by 
one  of  his  friends,  a Mr.  Nicholas,  a native  of  Virginia, 
but  who  at  this  time  was  a citizen  of  the  new  State  and  a 
member  of  its  Legislature.  It  was  not  known  for  twenty 
years  that  Jefferson  was  the  author  of  these  resolutions, 
as  he  had  the  “ solemn  assurance  that  it  should  not  be 
known  from  what  quarter  the  resolutions  came.”  1 These 
resolutions  were  sent  to  the  Legislatures  of  several  of  the 
States,  and  the  political  principles  they  endeavored  to 
disseminate  elicited  much  discussion,  but  little  favor 
from  these  bodies.  Their  influence  was  to  show  itself  in 
future  years.  John  C.  Calhoun  was  consistent  when  he 
characterized  Jefferson  as  “ the  Apostle  of  State  Rights;”  2 
that  is  of  the  extreme  view , since  all  advocate  the  legiti- 
mate rights  of  the  States  under  the  Constitution,  just  as 
municipal  rights  of  cities  chartered  by  State  authority ; 
but  that  does  not  imply  that  these  municipalities  should 
dominate  the  State  itself. 

The  eighth  of  these  resolutions  announces  the  theory 
that  “ where  powers  are  assumed  ” (alluding  to  the  United 
States  Government)  “ which  have  not  been  delegated,  a 
nullification  of  the  act  is  the  rightful  remedy  ; that  every 


CHAP, 

XLYIII. 


1798. 


1799. 


1 Randall’s  Life  of  Jefferson,  vol.  ii.,  p.  448. 
2 Works,  vol.  ii.,  p.  268. 


712 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AHERICAH  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLYHI. 


1832, 


State  lias  a natural  right,  in  cases  not  within  the  compact, 
to  nullify  of  their  [its]  own  authority  all  assumptions  of 
power  of  others  within  their  [its]  limits.”  1 On  the  prin- 
ciples thus  enunciated  South  Carolina  determined  to 
a nullify”  a United  States  law,  because  she  of  her  own 
authority  decided  that  a tariff,  said  to  be  protective  to 
American  industry,  was  “ unconstitutional,”  and  thirty 
years  later  in  a more  serious  effort  to  “ nullify”  the 
union  of  the  States. 

There  seems  to  have  been  an  impression  on  the  minds 
of  great  numbers  of  the  American  people  that  the  opera- 
tives in  large  factories  in  Europe  were  peculiarly  de- 
graded as  to  their  morals,  and  that  the  temptations  to 
vice  were  very  great  in  such  establishments.  It  was  also 
added  that  this  was  specially  the  case  in  the  mills  for 
manufacturing  cotton  and  wool,  as  in  these,  the  work 
being  comparatively  light,  females  and  boys  were  much 
employed.  This  was  given  as  one  reason  why  the  sys- 
tem of  such  manufacturing  should  not  be  introduced  into 
the  United  States.  Measures,  however,  were  taken  to 
prevent  such  evils,  and  when  mills  were  founded  at 
Lowell  and  afterward  at  Lawrence,  Mass.,  special  efforts 
were  made  to  secure  the  influence  of  pure  morals  among 
those  employed. 

In  Lowell  the  corporation  or  owners,  to  prevent  evil 
influences  in  their  mills,  provided  comfortable  boarding- 
places  for  the  young  women,  usually  farmers’  daughters, 
who  were  in  their  employ.  These  boarding-houses  were 
under  the  control  of  worthy  and  judicious  matrons 
selected  for  the  purpose,  and  to  whose  protection  the 
parents  in  the  vicinity  were  willing  to  intrust  their 
daughters.  These  young  people  had  been  educated  in 
the  public  schools,  and  had  acquired  a taste  for  reading ; 


Randall’s  Life  of  Jefferson,  vol.  ii.,  p.  450. 


COTTON  MANUFACTURE. 


713 


to  meet  this  demand  the  owners  provided  libraries  and  chap. 

reading-rooms ; to  the  latter  the  operatives  also  con-  

tributed  to  cover  incidental  expenses.  At  one  time  the 
young  women  who  worked  in  the  mills  issued  a period- 
ical, “The  Lowell  Offering.”  These  facts  show  the 
moral  tone  and  mental  requirements  of  a community 
that  would  demand  proper  guaranties  before  the 
parents  would  permit  their  young  people,  especially 
their  daughters,  to  labor  in  the  cotton  and  woolen  mills 
of  the  day.  In  nearly  all  of  the  earlier  mills  founded 
in  New  England  similar  efforts  were  made  to  protect 
and  elevate  those  whom  they  employed.  A change  has  1881. 
been  in  progress,  and  the  reading-rooms  and  libraries  are 
not  so  well  attended  as  formerly  ; the  native  employees 
have  given  way  to  foreigners,  who,  unfortunately,  care 
not  so  much  for  reading  and  mental  improvement. 

A great  advancement  was  made  in  the  process  of 
manufacturing  cotton  by  the  energy  of  Francis  C.  Lowell 
of  Boston,  who  conceived  the  idea  of  using  water-power 
in  the  various  operations.  He  visited  Europe  and  ex- 
amined the  machinery  used  there,  especially  that  in  the 
mills  of  England,  but  to  obtain  models  of  which  he 
found  impossible,  as  their  machinery  was  carefully 
watched  lest  it  should  be  copied,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  depend  upon  his  memory  and  his  own  inventive 
genius.  The  policy  of  England  in  that  day,  in  relation 
to  preserving  the  secrets  of  her  machinery,  was  virtually 
the  same  as  it  was  forty  years  before.1  With  the  aid  of  a 
practical  mechanic,  Mr.  Lowell  constructed  machinery 
according  to  his  own  designs.  This  was  crude  indeed, 
but  he  contrived  to  put  in  motion  1,700  spindles  in  a 
small  mill  at  Waltham,  Mass.  Here  under  the  same  roof  1813. 
cotton  was  carded,  spun,  and  woven ; and  it  is  said  to 


1 Hist. , p.  578. 


714 


CHAP. 

XLYHI. 


1822. 


1816 

to 

1826. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 

have  been  the  first  mill  in  the  world  in  which  all  the 
operations  of  that  manufacture  were  performed. 

Mr.  Lowell,  from  time  to  time,  made  improvements 
in  his  machinery,  and  so  great  was  his  success  that  a few 
enterprising  gentlemen  formed  a company,  and  at  a cer- 
tain point  purchased  the  land  along  the  banks  of  the 
Merrimac,  thus  securing  its  entire  water-power.  On  this 
purchase  now  stands  the  flourishing  city  of  Lowell — thus 
named  in  honor  of  its  indefatigable  projector.  Here  was 
inaugurated  on  a firm  basis  the  American  system  of 
manufacturing  cotton.  Within  a dozen  years  from  that 
time  there  were  nearly  800  cotton  factories — some  of 
these  were  very  small — in  the  Union  ; 738  were  in  the 
Free  States,  and  of  these  508  were  in  Hew  England 
alone.1  From  that  time  forward  the  increase  has  been 
enormous. 

During  this  period  the  industry  of  printing  calicoes 
was  carried  on  but  in  a crude  form  ; since  then  it  has 
grown  to  large  proportions  under  the  influence  of  Ameri- 
can inventions  and  improvements.  At  that  time  four 
colors  was  the  highest  number  impressed  at  one  move- 
ment ; this  has  since  been  increased  to  twenty. 

The  war  of  1812  threw  the  American  people  upon 
their  own  mechanical  resources  to  furnish  themselves  the 
needed  manufactured  articles,  which  for  the  greater  part 
had  hitherto  been  supplied  by  the  workshops  of  England. 
During  this  period  of  about  three  years  the  native  in- 
genuity in  the  invention  and  application  of  machinery 
to  manufacturing  purposes  of  various  kinds  developed 
rapidly.  The  war  itself  afforded  sufficient  protection 
from  the  skill  of  England  and  the  low  wages  paid  her 
operatives.  In  less  than  two  years  after  the  restoration 
of  peace  and  the  renewal  of  trade  the  American  manu- 
facturers found  themselves  utterly  ruined  by  the  immense 


Industrial  Hist.  U.  S.,  p.  412. 


FAR-REACHING  POLICY. 


715 


influx  of  English  merchandise,  which  had  been  accumu- 
lating for  years,  and  was  now  thrown  upon  the  American 
market  at  prices  sometimes  even  below  their  original  cost. 
The  English  merchants  had  two  objects  in  view : one  to 
stifle  the  manufacturing  industries  that  had  received  an 
impulse  during  the  war,  and  the  other  to  keep  per- 
manent control  of  the  American  market.  This  they 
hoped  to  accomplish  by  means  of  English  skill  and  the 
low  wages  paid  their  workmen.  The  latter  item  gave 
the  foreigner  an  immense  advantage,  as  the  American 
must  pay  higher  wages  because  of  the  much  few^er  num- 
ber willing  to  be  thus  employed. 

The  statesmen  of  that  day,  wdio  had  far-reaching 
views,  saw  that  the  alternative  was  either  to  abandon  the 
policy  of  advancing  the  mechanical  industries  of  the 
people  altogether,  or  counterbalance  the  advantages  of 
the  European  manufacturer  in  his  skill  and  the  low 
wages  paid  his  operatives.  They  chose  the  latter  policy. 
This  was  to  impose  a tariff  sufficiently  high  to  equalize 
the  cost  of  production  and  enable  the  American  manu- 
facturer to  compete  with  the  European  on  equal  terms, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  afford  an  opportunity  for  em- 
ployment to  those  of  our  own  people  who  worked  for 
wages ; to  introduce  diversities  of  industry,  and  develop 
the  natural  resources  of  the  country,  even  then  supposed 
to  be  enormous.1 

When  the  question  of  revising  the  tariff  came  before 
Congress  some  of  the  “ strict  constructionists”  suggested 
that  the  Constitution  authorized  a tariff  for  “revenue 
alone that  is  an  imposition  of  duty  in  such  a manner 
as  to  produce  the  most  revenue  to  the  Government,  and  it 
would  seem  without  reference  to  the  industrial  interests 
of  the  people.  A question  arose  which  has  puzzled 
Congress  ever  since : “ Where  does  the  rate  of  a tariff  for 


1 Natural  Resources  of  the  United  States,  by  J.  Harris  Patton. 


CHAP. 

XLV1I1. 


1816 

to 

1826. 


1816. 


716 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS’  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLYHI 


1816. 


1832. 


1789. 


1816. 


‘revenue  alone’  terminate,  and  that  for  ‘protection’ 
begin?”  On  this  occasion  John  C.  Calhoun  of  South 
Carolina  argued  that  a tariff  sufficiently  high  to  protect 
the  industries  of  the  people  was  constitutional,  saving, 
“manufactures  ought  to  be  countenanced  by  the  Gov- 
ernment,” and  “ they  will  arrive  at  a certain  perfection 
under  its  fostering  care and  he  urged  Congress  to 
“afford  to  ingenuity  and  industry  immediate  and  ample 
protection.”  Afterward  in  the  days  of  Nullification  he 
said,  “ I,  in  common  with  the  almost  entire  South,  gave 
my  support  to  the  tariff  of  1S16.” 1 Senator  George 
McDuffie  of  the  same  State,  in  speaking  of  this  tariff, 
says,  “ I most  perfectly  accord  in  the  policy  which 
dictated  that  measure.”  James  Madison  wished  the 
commercial  laws  revised  to  “protect  and  foster  the 
several  branches  of  manufactures.”  “ The  constitution- 
ality of  the  procedure  is  not  at  all  thought  of,  the  expe- 
diency of  it  is  warmly  recommended.*' 2 'With  this 
understanding  a tariff  was  imposed  upon  coarse  cottons, 
woolens,  and  many  other  manufactured  articles,  which 
tariff  was  amended  from  time  to  time  during  twelve 
years.  This  had  ever  been  the  national  policy ; the 
first  tariff  imposed  by  Congress  and  signed  by  Washing- 
ton in  its  preamble  says  it  was  required,  “ for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Government,  and  for  the  encouragement  and 
protection  of  domestic  manufactures.” 

During  the  war  of  1812,  to  cover  the  unusual  expense, 
and  to  supply  the  deficiency  caused  by  the  falling  off  of 
import  duties  which  had  nearly  ceased  altogether,  taxes 
were  imposed  on  many  home-made  articles.  It  was  now 
proposed  to  relieve  the  people  of  these  burdensome  taxes 
on  their  own  manufactures,  and  supply  the  deficiency  by 
increasing  the  duties  on  the  corresponding  foreign-made 
articles.  Thus  the  object  was  twofold : to  raise  the 


1 Works,  vol.  ii..  pp.  166-170. 

2 Niles  Reg.,  vol.  xxxvi.,  p.  82. 


IMPOliT  DUTIES. 


717 


needed  revenue,  and  to  encourage  domestic  industry ; of 
this  policy  Henry  Clay  was  the  ardent  advocate.  In 
accordance  with  this  a tariff  was  imposed  on  certain 
classes  of  articles ; u 1st,  those  of  which  a full  domestic 
supply  could  be  produced  ; 2d,  those  of  which  only  par- 
tial domestic  supply  could  be  afforded  ; and  3d,  those 
produced  at  home  very  slightly,  or  not  at  all.”  1 

The  cotton-growing  States  “ at  that  time  had  a par- 
ticular interest  in  encouraging  the  domestic  manufacture 
of  cotton.”  Such  were  the  views  of  Calhoun  and 
Lowndes,  of  South  Carolina — the  latter  reporting  the 
bill  to  Congress.  A heavy  duty  was  imposed  on  woolen 
and  cotton  cloths  of  various  grades ; also  on  iron  in  all 
its  forms,  on  spirits,  on  sugars — the  latter  to  encourage 
the  Louisiana  sugar-planter  ; on  hemp  and  lead  to  aid  the 
Kentucky  farmer  and  the  Illinois  miner.  The  proposed 
duty  on  indigo  unfortunately  failed,  as  that  article  was  a 
valuable  product  of  the  low  lands  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.2  Neither  the  cereals  nor  raw  cotton  needed 
protection — the  latter  staple  having  virtually  the  mon- 
opoly of  the  world,  both  as  to  quantity  an d.*  quality. 
After  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  the  southern  portion 
of  the  country  was  deemed  by  many  the  richest  portion 
of  the  Union  in  its  agricultural  products — cotton,  tobacco, 
and  sugar ; the  first  especially,  since  the  invention  of  the 
cotton-gin,  had  become  greatly  enhanced  in  value  as  a 
most  important  export.  This  theory  seemed  to  pervade 
the  minds  of  some  of  the  leading  men  of  that  section.3 
So  little  did  these  statesmen  know  or  even  suspect  of  the 
inherent  though  thus  far  latent  power  of  intelligent  and 
industrious  communities  as  those  in  the  Free  States, 
where  labor  as  such  was  reckoned  respectable.  This 
power  was  wonderfully  developed,  when  manufactures 


CHAP. 

XLVIIl. 


1816. 


Hildreth,  vol.  vi.,  p.  585.  2 Benton’s  Thirty  Years’  View,  vol.  i.,  p.  97. 

3 Hist.,  p.  624. 


718 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 
XL  VIII. 


1816. 


1829. 


were  introduced  into  these  States  under  the  “fostering: 
care”  of  the  legislation  of  1816  and  onward. 

It  was  then  supposed  the  slaves  could  be  taught  to 
manufacture  the  coarser  grades  of  cotton  cloth,  with 
which  they  themselves  were  for  the  most  part  clothed. 
It  was  therefore  important  to  the  masters  to  introduce 
that  manufacture  among  the  employments  of  their  slaves, 
who  could  thus  have  work  through  the  entire  year.  But 
after  a few  years  of  trial  it  was  found  that  from  their 
ignorance,  want  of  perseverance,  and  lack  of  interest  in 
their  work  they  were  inefficient  in  manufacturing  cotton  ; 
they  could  only  hoe  and  pick  it,  and  that  under  the 
harsh  supervision  of  overseers.  Similar  measures  failed 
to  succeed  in  the  factory,  where  more  intelligence  and 
skill  were  required.  Hence  the  complaints  made  against 
the  tariff  (in  Nullification  times),  that  it  ruined  the  South 
or  cotton-producing  States.1  This  statement  does  not 
seem  correct  in  the  light  of  facts,  for  the  decline  com- 
menced many  years  before.2  It  is  also  inconsistent  with 
statistics  which  show  that  in  1815  the  coarse  cotton  sheet- 
ings, with  which  the  slaves  were  mostly  clothed,  cost 
forty  cents  a yard — being  made  chiefly  on  hand  looms — 
while  a better  material  in  1829  cost  but  eight  and  one- 
half  cents,  thus  cheapened  by  the  advance  made  in  manu- 
facturing by  machinery.3  Meanwhile  the  fall  in  the  price 
of  raw  cotton  was  only  about  two-fifths  as  much  as  that 
of  the  woven  material — this  advantage  accruing  to  the 
planter.  A writer4  states  that  at  this  time  (1829)  “The 
cost  of  a good  cotton  summer  suit  for  a field  hand,  taking 
six  yards,  was  seventy-five  cents,  and  that  a winter  suit 
of  negro  cloth  cost  three  dollars other  expenses  were 
at  an  equally  low  rate.  Yet  the  Nullifiers  proclaimed 

1 See  Hist.,  p.  723,  for  opinions  of  McDuffie  and  Hayne. 

2 Benton’s  Thirty  Years’  View,  vol.  i.,  p.  101. 

3 Industrial  Hist.  U.  S.,  p.  414. 

* Niles  Register. 


THE  MOTIVES. 


719 


that  their  section  was  ruined  by  tariffs,  and  they  entered 
upon  a crusade  against  any  policy  that  aided  the  mechan- 
ical industries  of  the  country.  This  was  on  the  ground 
that  such  aid  was  unconstitutional.1  The  protest  of 
South  Carolina  pronounced  protective  duties  “ Uncon- 
stitutional, oppressive , and  unjust .”  As  the  tariff,  how- 
ever low,  is  to  that  extent  a protection  to  the  American 
manufacturer  of  the  same  kind  of  article,  it  would  follow 
from  this  that  Free  Trade  alone  was  constitutional.  By 
a similar  process  of  reasoning,  extremists  among  the  slave- 
owning statesmen  argued  that  the  best  social  condition 
was  for  the  capitalist  to  own  those  whom  he  employed  ; 
in  other  words,  that  u all  laborers  should  be  slaves.” 
Such  were  the  views  of  John  C.  Calhoun  and  George 
McDuffie,  and  others.  The  motives  that  influenced  the 
minds  of  these  legislators  were  radically  different.  The 
statesmen  of  the  Slave  States,  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
had  reference  alone  to  the  advantages  that  would  accrue 
to  the  masters ; while  those  of  the  Free  States  had  refer- 
ence as  much  to  that  large  class  who  obtained  their  sup- 
port from  wages  as  to  the  capitalist  who  invested  his 
money  in  manufacturing  industries. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  1812  England 
was  buying  our  raw  cotton  and  sending  it  back  in  the 
form  of  cloth  made  by  machines  driven  by  steam,  wdiile 
at  that  time  in  the  United  States  were  very  few,  perhaps 
no  factories  for  weaving  cotton-cloth, — the  mill  at  Beverly 
having  failed.  There  were  in  the  country  a few  small 
mills  for  spinning  cotton  yarn,  and  the  weaving  was  done 
by  hand  on  domestic  looms ; hence  this  product  was 
termed  “ domestics.” 

Our  statesmen  then  desired  to  encourage  the  manu- 
facture of  cottons  and  woolens  in  all  their  forms ; but  to 
do  so  the  people  must  contend  with  the  acquired  skill 


CHAP. 

XLVII1. 


1829. 


Debates  in  Congress,  vol . x. , pp.  24S-245. 


720 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLYIII, 


1816. 


1820. 


1851. 


1816 

to 

1820. 


and  machinery  of  England,  and  the  low  wages  paid  her 
operatives.  The  same  causes  gave  an  impulse  to  the 
manufacture  of  woolens,  though  this  industry  remained 
for  a long  time  in  the  hands  of  the  household.  Not  till 
1816  and  onward  was  a definite  impetus  given  to  the 
manufacture  of  woolen  goods  in  its  varied  forms.  The 
supply  of  native  wool  was  not  sufficient,  and  to  obtain 
which  great  exertions  were  made  to  induce  the  farmers 
to  raise  sheep  for  its  production.  To  secure  the  finest 
quality  merino  sheep  were  imported  from  Spain,  and 
wool-growing  became  an  important  industry.  The 
pioneer  woolen  mills  only  wove  the  yarn  spun  in  the 
household  in  the  vicinity.  Carding  and  fulling  mills 
came  into  existence  to  aid  and  complete  the  domestic 
manufacture,  and  finally  in  the  course  of  years  the  work 
was  performed,  or  nearly  so,  under  the  same  roof  by 
means  of  machinery.  The  advance,  however,  was  not  so 
rapid  in  the  woolen  as  in  the  cotton  manufacture.  The 
States  of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  and  Connec- 
ticut took  energetic  measures  to  advance  the  manufac- 
ture of  wool.  Vermont  became  the  producer  of  the 
finest  wool  in  New  England,  yet  it  remained  for  another 
State — Tennessee — to  exhibit  the  finest  specimen  wool 
at  the  first  World’s  Fair  at  London. 

Our  manufacture  of  wool  has  come  oftener  than  any 
other  of  our  industries  in  competition  with  the  skill  and 
the  low  wages  paid  operatives  in  England,  Belgium,  and 
France,  and  in  consequence  has  had  unusual  difficulties 
to  overcome. 

The  depression  in  the  industrial  interests  of  the  coun- 
try after  the  war  of  1812  was  very  great.  Henry  Clay 
estimated  the  property  of  the  United  States  to  have  sunk 
in  value  one-half  in  the  course  of  four  years.  This  esti- 
mate was  no  doubt  in  respect  to  the  States  outside  New 
England.  The  people  of  that  section  by  their  industrial 
enterprise  and  economy  had  secured  success  in  many 


EQUALIZING  MEASURE. 


721 


respects,  especially  in  tlieir  shipping  interest,  including 
the  carrying  trade  between  foreign  nations  during  the 
wars  of  Napoleon,  the  coasting  trade  of  their  own  coun- 
try, the  fisheries  along  their  coasts,  and  for  whales  in  the 
Arctic  seas.  In  consequence  of  this  accumulation  of 
capital  their  finances  were  in  a good  condition,  and  their 
banks  were  sound  and  able  to  redeem  their  notes  in 
.specie  when  presented  at  their  counters,  while  in  the  rest 
of  the  Union  financial  distress  more  or  less  prevailed. 

The  term  protection  is  unfortunate,  inasmuch  that 
many  are  led  astray,*  thinking  that  those  who  manufac- 
ture were  protected  or  aided  by  the  Government  at  the 
expense  of  the  other  portion  of  the  people.  The  term  is 
a misnomer  ; it  should  be  designated  an  equalizing 
measure , designed  to  put  our  own  workmen  and  those 
wTho  employ  them  on  equal  terms  as  manufacturers  with 
the  foreigners,  who  have  the  advantage  in  acquired  skill, 
low  rate  of  interest  on  capital,  and  more  than  all,  in  the 
small  amount  of  wages  paid  their  operatives.  Making 
the  terms  thus  equal  to  the  manufacturers  of  both  lands, 
if  the  American,  by  means  of  his  energy  and  mechanical 
inventions,  and  the  better  education  of  his  workmen  in 
industrious  habits,  is  more  successful,  he  and  the  people 
have  a right  to  the  advantages  thus  acquired.  The  “ strict 
constructionists”  thought  Congress  had  no  authority  to 
levy  a tariff  so  as  to  equalize  the  expense  of  manufactur- 
ing in  the  United  States  with  that  in  Europe. 

Senator  Foote  of  Connecticut  submitted  a resolution 
of  inquiry  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  public  lands.  The  de- 
bate on  the  resolution  took  a wide  range,  in  the  course  of 
> which  the  young  and  brilliant  Senator,  Robert  Y . Hayne, 
of  South  Carolina,  avowed  the  opinion  that  any  State  had 
a right,  as  a sovereign  power,  to  declare  null  and  void  any 
act  of  Congress  which  that  State  deemed  unconstitutional. 
This  was  the  first  time  that  the  doctrine  of  nullification 


CHAP. 

XLVIII. 


1820. 


1830. 


722 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLVIII. 


1832. 


had  been  openly  maintained  in  the  councils  of  the  nation— 
the  sentiments  rather  of  Calhoun  the  Vice-President  than 
of  the  speaker  himself : a doctrine  based  upon  the  as- 
sumption that  the  National  Government  was  a compact 
between  the  States,  and  that  any  of  them  could  at  pleas- 
ure recede  from  the  Union. 

Daniel  Webster  at  once  pointed  out  the  injurious  re- 
sults to  the  Union  if  these  principles  were  acted  upon. 

This  debate,  continued  for  several  days,  and  not  only  from 
the  masterly  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted,  but  from 
the  influence  it  exerted  upon  the  minds  of  the  American 
people,  was  one  of  the  most  important  that  ever  occurred 
in  the  Halls  of  Congress.  Webster  clearly  exposed  the 
fallacy  of  the  argument  adduced  to  prove  that  the  Na- 
tional Government  was  a compact  of  sovereign,  independ- 
ent States  ; or  that  any  of  them  were  at  liberty  to  with- 
draw from  the  Union,  without  the  consent  of  the  others.  On 
the  contrary,  he  urged  that  the  Constitution  was  the  work  of 
the  people  themselves,  not  as  members  of  each  independent 
State,  but  as  members  of  all  the  States  ; and  that  the 
Supreme  Court  was  the  tribunal  authorized  to  decide  in 
cases  of  conflict  between  the  States  and  the  General 
Government.  Says  the  venerable  Chancellor  Kent  in 
reference  to  the  discussion,  and  especially  Webster’s 
speech  : “ It  turned  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the 

great  doctrines  of  national  rights  and  national  union. 
Constitutional  law  was  rescued  from  the  archives  of  our 
tribunals  and  the  libraries  of  our  lawyers,  placed  under 
the  eye,  and  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  the  American 
people.”  And  heartily  did  they  respond  to  the  sentiment 
that  the  “ Union  must  be  preserved.”  The  importance 
of  the  subject  awakened  an  intense  interest  in  the  nation, 
and  the  reports  of  the  discussion  were  read  and  commented 
upon  by  millions.  This  debate  really  settled  the  question 
of  nullification  ; and  its  influence  upon  the  public  mine} 


REVISION  OF  THE  TARIFF — NULLIFICATION. 


723 


created  a moral  power  which  gave  a death-blow  to  the  char 

dangerous  design  then  in  existence.  - 

1832. 

Congress,  in  revising  the  tariff,  instead  of  diminishing, 
increased  the  duties  on  many  articles.  This  gave  still  JuK 
greater  offence  to  the  cotton-growing  States,  who  com- 
plained, that  they  in  consequence  paid  exorbitant  prices, 
especially  for  cottons  and  woollens.  The  question  be- 
came in  some  respects  a sectional  one.  The  North  on  the 
one  hand  had  accommodated  her  industry  to  manufac- 
tures ; she  had  acquired  skill,  and  was  unwilling  to  sac- 
rifice this  and  also  an  immense  amount  of  invested 
capital.  She  thought  it  unjust  that  her  interests  should 
be  injured,  if  not  ruined,  by  a change  of  the  policy  under 
which  she  had  been  compelled  to  turn  her  attention  to 
that  particular  sphere  of  industry.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  South,  pointing  to  her  exhausted  fields,  especially  in 
the  Atlantic  States,  and  their  diminution  of  population, 
exclaimed  : See  what  the  tariff  has  done  ! Says  McDuffie 
of  South  Carolina,  on  the  floor  of  Congress  : “ Look,  sir,  at 
the  present  aspect  of  the  Southern  States.  In  no  part  of 
Europe  will  you  see  the  same  indications  of  decay.  De- 
serted villages,  houses  falling  to  ruin,  impoverished  lands 
thrown  out  of  cultivation.”  The  reason  that  the  South 
did  not  derive  benefit  from  the  imposition  of  a tariff  was 
admitted  by  Hayne  himself.  “ The  slaves,”  said  he  in 
the  Senate,  “ are  too  improvident,  too  incapable  of  minute, 
constant,  delicate  attention,  and  the  persevering  industry 
which  is  essential  to  the  success  of  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments.” Similar  sentiments  were  expressed  by  other 
members  of  Congress. 

The  States  of  Virginia,  Georgia  and  South  Carolina 
were  the  most  opposed  to  the  measure,  but  only  the  latter 
took  the  responsibility  of  openly  resisting  the  collection 
of  duties  imposed  by  this  law  of  Congress.  She  published 
an  ordinance  to  that  effect,  and  denied  the  authority  of 


724 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLYHL 


1833. 


Feb. 

11. 


the  General  Government  to  enforce  what  she  deemed  ac 
unconstitutional  law. 

The  President  immediately  issued  a proclamation, 
moderate  in  its  language  hut  determined  in  tone.  In 
plain  terms  he  expressed  his  views  upon  the  subject,  and 
intimated  that  he  would  vindicate  the  power  intrusted  to 
his  hands.  He  appealed  u to  the  understanding  and 
patriotism  of  the  people  of  the  State,  and  warned  them 
of  the  consequences  that  must  inevitably  result  from 
obeying  the  dictates  of  the  convention,”  which  had  ad- 
vised resistance  to  the  law. 

Previous  to  this,  Calhoun  had  resigned  the  vice-presi- 
dency, and  now  appeared  in  the  Senate  in  the  place  of 
Hayne,  who  had  retired  to  take  the  office  of  Governor  of 
South  Carolina,  and  who  now  replied  to  the  President  by 
a counter  proclamation.  He  warned  the  people  of  the 
State  against  “ the  dangerous  and  pernicious  doctrines  ” 
in  that  document,  and  called  upon  them  to  disregard 
“ those  vain  menaces  ” of  military  force,  “ to  be  fully  pre- 
pared to  sustain  the  dignity  and  protect  the  liberties  ol 
the  State,  if  need  be,  with  their  lives  and  fortunes.” 

Nothing  daunted,  South  Carolina  proclaimed  herself 
hostile  to  the  Union,  and  resolved  to  maintain  her  rights 
as  a Sovereign  State,  by  organizing  troops  and  providing 
munitions  of  war.  Meantime  her  Legislature  passed  laws 
which  forbade  the  collection  of  United  States  revenue 
within  her  boundaries  ; and  intimated  that  if  an  attempt 
was  made  by  the  General  Government  to  enforce  the  col- 
lection of  such  duties,  sb,3  would  exercise  her  right  to 
secede  from  the  Union,  and  “ forthwith  proceed  to  organ- 
ize a separate  government.”  The  attitude  of  the  State 
was  imposing  and  resolute.  But  the  President  was 
equally  as  decided  in  his  measures  to  enforce  the  laws. 
Soon  a national  vessel,  with  troops  on  board,  appeared  in 
the  harbor  of  Charleston  ; they  came  to  aid  the  officers 
in  the  collection  of  the  revenue.  The  State  receded  from 


THE  COMPROMISE  BILL ITS  FINAL  PASSAGE. 


725 


ber  defiant  position,  and  the  storm  calmed  down  ; the 
famous  Tariff  Compromise,  just  passed  by  Congress,  fur- 
nished a convenient  reason  for  that  act  of  prudence. 

Henry  Clay  was  the  principal  author  of  the  measure, 
and  to  him  belongs  the  honor  of  introducing  it  into  the 
Senate.  The  Compromise  consisted  in  gradually  dimin- 
ishing for  ten  years  the  imposts,  till  they  should  arrive  at 
a uniform  rate  of  twenty  per  cent. — the  revenue  standard 
for  which  the  opponents  of  the  tariff  contended. 

The  secret  history  of  .the  final  passage  of  that  Com- 
promise bill  in  the  Senate  is  singular.  Its  opponents 
had  denounced  the  principle  of  protection  to  American 
industry,  as  unconstitutional.  In  order  to  prevent  op- 
position to  the  bill  on  that  ground,  after  it  had  become  a 
law,  it  was  necessary  that  those  opposing  it  should  be 
induced  to  vote  for  it  ; to  vote,  not  only  for  the  bill  as  a 
whole,  but  for  its  separate  articles.  The  crisis  was  near. 
The  President  had  determined  to  enforce  the  law  ; he 
scouted  the  idea  of  compromise,  and  stood  ready  to  arrest 
the  leaders,  especially  Calhoun,  and  bring  him  to  trial  for 
treason.  John  M.  Clayton,  of  Delaware,  privately  gave 
the  parties  to  understand  that  he  should  move  to  lay  the 
bill  on  the  table,  where  it  should  lie,  unless  the  nullifiers 
should  one  and  all  give  it  their  individual  support.  He 
assured  them  that  there  was  a sufficient  number  of 
senators  (wdiose  names  he  refused  to  give),  to  prevent  its 
passage,  if  this  condition  was  not  complied  with.  The 
amendments  to  the  bill  had  all  passed  but  the  last  ; the 
one  which  embodied  the  principle  of  home  valuation. 
This  Calhoun  and  his  friends  opposed  with  great  vehe- 
mence. Clayton  moved  to  lay  the  bill  on  the  table,  and 
no  persuasion  could  induce  him  to  withdraw  the  motion. 
The  opponents  of  the  measure  withdrew  from  the  hall  for 
a few  minutes,  to  consult.  One  of  their  number  presently 
returned  and  requested  Clayton  to  withdraw  his  motion, 
to  give  time  to  consider  the  amendment.  He  consented. 


CHAR. 

XLYin 


1833. 


Mar 

3. 


726 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


xmii  the  understanding  that,  if  necessary,  he  would  re 

new  it.  That  night,  consultations  were  held  by  the 

1888.  Southern  members.  The  next  day,  when  the  bill  was 
under  consideration,  it  was  intimated  that  it  could  be 
passed  without  the  aid  of  Calhoun's  vote.  But  Clayton 
was  inflexible — his  vote  must  be  given  for  the  bill,  oi 
^tir  nothing  would  he  secured  by  it.  It  was  the  last  day  ol 
the  session — another  Congress  would  not  meet  for  months. 
It  was  a solemn  hour.  If  the  impending  collision  be  - 
tween the  State  and  the  Government  should  occur,  who 
could  tell  what  would  be  the  result  ? How  could  South 
Carolina  be  extricated  from  the  difficulties  of  her  position  ? 
Calhoun  remained  to  the  last,  his  friends  one  by  one 
voting  for  the  amendment.  After  making  a few  remarks 
on  the  conditions  upon  which  he  should  act,  he  also  voted 
for  the  amendment,  and  afterward  for  the  bill  as  a whole.1 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  General  Jackson  entered 
upon  his  second  term  of  office,  with  Martin  V an  Buren,  of 
New  York,  as  Vice-President.  The  principal  opposing 
candidate  was  Henry  Clay. 

According  to  its  charter,  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  was  the  legal  depository  of  the  public  funds.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  only,  with  the  sanction  of 
Congress,  had  authority  to  remove  them.  By  resolution, 
Congress  had  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  public 
moneys  were  safe  in  the  keeping  of  the  Bank.  The 
President  thought  differently.  When  Congress  was  not 
in  session,  he  made  known  to  the  Cabinet  his  intention  to 
remove  the  public  funds  from  the  custody  of  the  Bank, 
and  to  transfer  them  to  certain  State  Banks.  The 
majority  of  the  Cabinet  were  opposed  to  the  measure. 
As  he  could  not  reach  the  money  except  through  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  William  J.  Duane,  he  directed 


1 Thirty  Years’  View,  Yol.  i.  Chap.  Ixxxy. 


REMOVAL  OF  THE  DEPOSITS — INDIAN  WARS. 


727 


him  to  remove  the  deposits  ; hut  the  Secretary  viewing 
the  measure  as  u unnecessary,  unwise,  arbitrary,  and  un- 
just,” refused.  The  President  immediately  dismissed 
him  from  office,  and  appointed  Roger  B.  Taney,  after- 
ward Chief  Justice,  in  his  place,  who  hastened  to  issue 
an  order  to  the  collectors,  forbidding  them  to  deposit  the 
public  moneys  in  the  Bank  of  the  United  States.  The 
intention  being  to  withdraw  the  funds  already  in  its  pos- 
session, as  they  should  he  needed  in  defraying  the  current 
expenses  of  the  government. 

The  measure  spread  distrust  through  the  whole  mer- 
cantile community,  and  destroyed  that  confidence  which 
is  essential  to  the  success  of  business  transactions.  The 
notes  of  the  Bank  were  at  par  throughout  the  Union,  but 
now  the  whole  system  of  exchange  was  thrown  into  con- 
fusion. Universal  distress  prevailed.  The  wages  of  daily 
laborers  were  especially  depressed.  Memorials  from  all 
parts  of  the  country  poured  into  Congress,  asking  it  to 
adopt  measures  that  would  give  relief.  After  a time,  the 
State  banks  endeavored  to  relieve  the  monetary  distress 
by  liberal  loans.  These  loans,  in  turn,  were  the  occasion 
of  exciting  a spirit  of  speculation  that  produced  still 
greater  evils. 

The  Administration  was  not  exempt  from  Indian 
troubles.  Some  of  the  north-western  tribes,  led  by  Black 
Hawk,  a chief  of  the  Sac  nation,  made  incursions  against 
the  frontier  settlements  of  Illinois.  The  government  sent 
troops,  under  General  Atkinson,  who  soon,  with  the  aid 
of  the  militia,  drove  the  savages  beyond  the  Mississippi. 
In  one  of  the  skirmishes,  Black  Hawk  himself  was  cap- 
tured. To  impress  him  with  the  greatness  of  the  nation, 
he  was  first  taken  to  Washington,  and  then  to  visit  the 
principal  eastern  cities. 

Two  years  afterward  an  attempt  was  made  by  the 
government  to  remove  the  Seminole  Indians  beyond  the 


CHAP. 

XLVm 


1833. 


Oct 


1832 


728 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


xmn*  ^ssissippi  River-  They  refused  to  emigrate,  and  anothei 

1 Indian  war  was  the  consequence.  Skulking  through  the 

1834.  swamps  and  woods  of  Florida,  the  savages  would  suddenly 
dash  into  the  settlements  to  murder  and  destroy.  Many 
valuable  lives  were  thus  lost.  Among  these  were  Major 
Dade,  and  more  than  a hundred  men,  who  all  perished 
by  falling  into  an  ambuscade.  On  the  same  day,  the 
United  States'  agent,  Mr.  Wiley  Thompson,  and  five  of 
his  friends  were  killed  and  scalped  by  Osceola,  the  leading 
chief  of  the  Seminoles.  The  year  before,  Thompson  had 
injudiciously  offended  the  savage,  by  confining  him  in 
irons  for  a day.  Though  he  feigned  friendship,  his  proud 
spirit  thirsted  to  revenge  the  insult.  The  Creeks  joined 
the  Seminoles,  and  attacked  several  villages,  both  in 
Georgia  and  Alabama.  The  unhealthy  vapors  of  the 
swamps,  the  bites  of  poisonous  snakes  and  insects,  inflict- 
ed intense  sufferings  upon  the  troops.  It  was  impossible 
to  subdue  the  Indians,  who,  after  their  attacks  upon  the 
Whites,  would  retreat  to  their  hiding-places  in  the  swamps. 
Led  by  Osceola,  the  war,  or  rather  skirmishing,  continued 
for  years  ; the  troops  were  baffled  again  and  again.  At 
length  his  own  policy,  of  making  treaties  only  to  break 
them,  was  practised  upon  himself.  One  day  he  appeared 
under  a flag  of  truce  at  the  American  camp.  General 
1837.  Jessup,  who  was  in  command,  immediately  made  him 
prisoner,  with  all  his  followers.  Osceola  was  sent  to 
Charleston,  and  while  there  confined  in  Fort  Moultrie,  a 
fever  terminated  his  eventful  life. 

Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,  afterward  President  of  the 
1842.  United  States,  was  sent  to  succeed  Jessup.  Taylor,  by 
great  exertions,  brought  the  war  to  a close,  but  not  till 
it  had  lasted  altogether  seven  years,  and  cost  the  nation 
1886.  many  lives,  and  thirty  millions  of  dollars. 

During  this  administration,  died  John  Marshall,  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  time,  at  the  age  of 
four-score.  He  had  served  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution, 


CLAIMS  AGAINST  FRANCE  SETTLED. 


729 


and  won  the  esteem  of  W ashington  ; had  been  a member  char 

of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Secretary  of  State,  

Secretary  of  War,  and  Minister  to  France.  President  John  1836. 
Adams  nominated  him  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  over  which  for  thirty-five  years  he  presided  “ with 
native  dignity  and  unpretending  grace.”  His  solidity  of 
judgment,  his  reasoning  powers,  his  acute  and  penetrating 
mind,  were  remarkable,  and  none  the  less  striking  were  the 
purity  of  his  Christian  life  and  his  simplicity  of  manner. 

The  maxim  of  foreign  policy  acted  upon  by  the  Presi- 
dent was  “to  ask  nothing  but  what  was  right,  and  to 
submit  to  nothing  that  was  wrong.”  American  merchants 
had  claims,  amounting  to  five  millions  of  dollars,  against 
the  French  government.  They  had  remained  unsettled 
for  twenty  years.  These  indemnities  were  for  “ unlawful 
seizures,  captures,  and  destruction  of  vessels  and  cargoes,” 
during  the  wars  of  Napoleon.  The  government  of  Louis 
Philippe  acknowledged  their  justice,  and  by  treaty  en- 
gaged to  pay  them.  But  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  at 
different  times  during  three  years,  refused  to  appropriate 
the  money.  The  President  sent  a message  to  Congress, 
recommending  reprisals  upon  French  property  if  the  treaty 
was  not  complied  with.  The  French  Chambers  took 
offence  at  the  tone  of  the  message,  and  although  Congress, 
had  not  acted  upon  its  suggestions,  they  refused  to  pay 
the  money  unless  the  obnoxious  proposal  was  withdrawn. 

This  brought  another  message,  in  which  the  President  re- 
viewed the  difficulties  existing  between  the  governments. 

Said  he  : “ Come  what  may,  the  explanation  which 
France  demands  can  never  be  accorded;  and  no  arma- 
ment (alluding  to  a French  fleet  then  on  our  coast), 
however  powerful  and  imposing,  will,  I trust,  deter  us 
from  discharging  the  high  duties  which  we  owe  to  our 
constituents,  to  our  national  character,  and  to  the  world.” 

He  suggested  to  Congress  to  prohibit  the  entrance  of 


730 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

XLYHI. 


1836. 


Nov. 


French  imports  into  our  ports,  and  the  interdiction  of 
all  commercial  intercourse. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  soon  after  paid  the  money 
to  satisfy  the  claims  and  fulfill  the  treaty. 

Equally  successful  was  the  President  in  arranging 
other  difficulties  of  long  standing ; claims  for  similar 
seizures  and  spoliations  against  Spain,  Naples,  and  Den- 
mark. Also  treaties  of  commerce  and  friendship  were 
negotiated  with  Russia  and  the  Ottoman  Empire — the 
first  American  treaty  with  the  latter  power. 

Two  States,  Arkansas  and  Michigan,  were  added  to 
the  Union;  the  original  thirteen  had  now  doubled. 

After  a spirited  contest  Martin  Yan  Buren,  of  New 
York,  was  elected  President  by  the  people,  and  Richard 
M.  Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  Yice-President,  not  by  the 
electoral  vote,  but  by  the  Senate. 

General  Jackson’s  administration  will  ever  be  mem- 
orable for  its  measures  and  for  its  influence.  The  nation 
was  greatly  agitated  by  conflicts  of  opinion  in  relation  to 
his  official  acts,  since  he  professed  to  be  governed  by  the 
Constitution,  not  as  interpreted  by  tire  United  States 
Supreme  Court,  but  as  he  himself  understood  it — a dis- 
respect for  constituted  law  which  in  after  years  was  not 
without  malign  influence.  He  introduced  extensively1 
the  vicious  system  of  removing  persons  from  minor  of- 
fices for  political  purposes  alone,  filling  their  places  with 
partisans.  From  that  day  this  custom  has  been  a corrupt- 
ing element  in  the  nation’s  politics.  Arbitrary  in  the  ex- 
treme, he  had  quarrels  with  his  Cabinet  for  reasons  um 
worthy  the  record  of  history.  Though  intensely  patri- 
otic, and  not  famed  for  legal  acquirements,  he  had  little 
respect  for  law  or  decisions  of  courts  if  they  did  not 
coincide  with  his  own  notions  and  prejudices;  but  his 
energy  and  determined  will  enabled  him  to  carry  his 
points  in  defiance  of  opposition  and  established  usages. 

1 Hist.,  p.  705. 


CHAPTEE  X L I X . 

VAN  BUREN’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


Apparent  Prosperity. — The  Specie  Circular. — The  Surplus  Funds. — Sus- 
pension  of  Specie  Payments. — Speculation. — Special  Session  of  Con- 
gress.— The  Sub-Treasury. — State  Indebtedness. 


The  last  year  of  Jackson’s  administration  appeared  to 
be  one  of  very  great  national  prosperity.  The  public 
debt  bad  been  cancelled  two  years  before,  and  there  were 
nearly  forty  millions  of  dollars  of  surplus.  This  pros- 
perity was  fallacious  in  the  extreme. 

The  State  Banks,  called  in  derision  the  “ Pets,”  with 
whom  the  deposits  had  been  placed,  loaned  money  freely, 
with  the  expectation  that  they  should  continue  to  have 
the  use  of  the  public  funds  until  they  were  called  for  by 
the  Government.  That  time  seemed  to  be  distant,  as  its 
^revenue  was  greater  than  its  current  expenses. 

Other  banks  sprang  into  existence,  until  the  number 
amounted,  throughout  the  land,  to  seven  hundred  and  fifty. 
These  institutions  had  very  little  gold  or  silver  in  their 
vaults,  as  a means  to  redeem  the  notes  with  which  they 
flooded  the  country,  giving  a fictitious  value  to  every  thing 
that  was  bought  or  sold.  They  rivalled  each  other  in  af- 
fording facilities  for  the  wildest  schemes  of  speculation. 

The  public  lands  became  an  object  of  this  speculation, 
until  the  sales  amounted  to  millions  in  a month.  Two 
acts — the  one  of  the  late  President ; the  other  of  Con- 


CHAP. 

XLIX. 


1837. 


732 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP  gress — combined  to  hasten  the  crisis.  President  Jackson 

in  order  to  restrain  the  undue  sales  of  the  public  lands. 

1837.  had  issued,  through  the  Treasury  Department,  an  order 
known  as  the  Specie  Circular,  requiring  the  collectors 
at  the  offices  to  receive  only  gold  and  silver  in  payments 
183fi’  f°r  lan(l-  Six  months  later,  Congress  passed  a law  to  dis- 
tribute among  the  States  the  government  funds,  on  de- 
posit in  the  banks.  They  were  thus  forced  to  call  in  their 
loans  to  meet  this  demand,  while  the  Specie  Circular 
arrested  the  circulation  of  their  notes,  and  brought  them 
back  to  their  counters,  to  be  exchanged  for  gold  and  silver. 
Within  six  months  after  this  distribution  was  ordered,  the 
business  of  the  whole  country  was  prostrated  : all  im- 
provements ceased,  and  twenty  thousand  laboring  men 
were,  within  a few  weeks,  thrown  out  of  employment  in 
New  York  City  alone,  where  the  failures  amounted  to  one 
hundred  millions  of  dollars,  while  those  of  New  Orleans 
were  as  great  in  proportion,  being  twenty-seven  millions. 
May.  A few  weeks  later,  the  banks  of  New  York  City  suspended 
specie  payment  ; an  example  which  the  other  banks  of 
the  country  hastened  to  follow. 

Previous  to  the  suspension  of  payments,,  a large  and 
respectable  committee  of  merchants  of  New  York  visited 
Washington,  to  lay  before  the  new  President  the  state  of 
the  country.  Similar  representations  went  from  almost 
every  section  of  the  land.  The  President  denied  the  re$ 
quest  of  the  committee  to  rescind  the  Specie  Circular,  but 
proposed  to  call  a Special  Session  of  Congress,  on  the  first 
Monday  of  the  following  September. 

The  extent  to  which  speculation  raged  seems  almost 
fabulous.  The  compromise  tariff  had  nearly  run  its  course, 
and  the  duty  arrived  at  its  minimum  ; foreign  merchandise 
was  imported  in  unheard-of  quantities,  thus  ruining  do- 
mestic industry  ; internal  improvements,  because  of  the 
facility  in  obtaining  loans,  were  projected  to  an  extent 
almost  without  limit  ; the  public  lands  were  bought  by 


SPECULATION THE  GOVERNMENT  EMBARRASSED. 


733 


the  millions  of  acres,  and  cities  and  villages  were  multi- 
plied on  paper  by  hundreds  ; and  stranger  still,  the  sites 
of  these  prospective  cities,  divided  into  lots,  were  fre- 
quently made  the  basis  of  money  transactions. 

A few  months  before,  the  General  Government  was 
free  from  debt,  and  had  a surplus  of  forty  millions.  Now 
the  surplus  had  been  given  to  the  States  ; the  importers 
had  neither  gold  nor  silver  to  pay  duties,  and  the  Govern- 
ment itself  was  deprived  of  the  means  to  defray  its  cur- 
rent expenses. 

When  Congress  assembled,  the  President  made  no 
suggestion  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  commercial  em- 
barrassments of  the  country  might  be  relieved,  on  the 
ground  that  the  General  Government  was  unauthorized 
by  the  Constitution  to  afford  such  relief.  He  was  there- 
fore in  favor  of  the  people  taking  care  of  themselves.  The 
message  contained,  however,  two  recommendations  ; one 
the  issue  of  Treasury  notes,  to  relieve  the  Government's 
own  embarrassments,  the  other  an  Independent  Treasury 
for  the  public  funds.  The  object  of  the  latter  was  to 
avoid  the  liability  of  loss  by  depositing  the  public  moneys 
in  banks.  These  treasuries  were  to  be  located  at  suitable 
places  ; the  sub-treasurers  to  be  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, and  to  give  bonds  for  the  proper  fulfilment  of  their 
duties. 

The  measure  was  opposed,  lest  the  withdrawal  of  so 
much  gold  and  silver  from  circulation  would  injure  com- 
mercial operations.  The  bill  failed  in  the  House,  though 
it  passed  the  Senate.  Three  years  later  it  was  estab- 
lished ; the  next  year  repealed — then  re-enacted,  five 
years  after,  and  is  still  the  law  of  the  land. 

The  Legislatures  of  many  of  the  States  became  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  speculation,  and  as  a means  to  obtain 
loans,  issued  State  stocks  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred 
millions.  This  was  done  under  the  laudable  pretext  of 
developing  their  resources,  by  internal  improvements. 


CHAP 

XLIX. 


1837. 


Sept 

4. 


734 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  Eight  of  the  States  failed  to  pay  the  interest  on  these 

loans  or  stocks.  In  time  they  recovered  from  the  shock, 

1838.  and  hut  one  of  them,  Mississippi,  and  one  territory,  Florida, 
repudiated  their  debt  and  defied  their  creditors.  These 
loans  were  principally  obtained  in  Europe,  where,  on  the 
subject  of  these  failures  to  pay,  great  indignation  was  ex- 
pressed. The  whole  nation  was  dishonored  ; — two  years 
later,  when  the  National  Government  wished  to  obtain  a 
loan,  her  agents  could  not  induce  a capitalist  in  all 
Europe  to  risk  a dollar  in  such  investment. 

As  the  administration  of  Yan  Buren  drew  to  a close, 
the  financial  condition  of  the  country  did  not  much  im- 
prove. However,  his  party  nominated  him,  as  well  as  Vice- 
President  Johnson,  for  a second  term.  The  opposing  can- 
didate was  William  Henry  Harrison,  of  Ohio,  whom  we 
have  seen  as  a popular  general  of  the  north-west  during 
1812.  the  last  war,  as  well  as  filling  many  civil  offices  with 
honor  to  himself  and  profit  to  the  country.  On  the  same 
ticket  was  John  Tyler  of  Virginia,  as  the  candidate  for 
1840.  Vice-President.  Harrison  was  elected  by  a very  large 
majority.  The  commercial  disasters  of  the  country  were 
generally  attributed  to  the  interference  of  the  Government 
with  the  currency  ; this  belief  had  caused  a great  revul- 
gion  in  the  public  mind. 


CHAPTER  L. 


HARRISON  AND  TYLER’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

The  Inauguration. — Death  of  Harrison. — Tyler  President. — Sub-Treasury 
Act  repealed. — Bankrupt  Law. — The  Bank  Charters;  their  Vetoes. — 
Proposition  to  treat  with  Great  Britain. — Insurrection  in  Canada. — The 
Caroline. — Trial  of  McLeod. — Boundary  Disputes  in  Maine. — Lord 
Ashburton. — Treaty  of  Washington. — Questions  of  Visit  and  Impress- 
ment.— Exploring  Expedition. — Texas  Colonization  ; struggles. — Inde- 
pendence.— Siege  of  Goliad  and  the  Alamo. — Davy  Crocket. — Massacre 
of  Prisoners. — Battle  of  San  Jacinto. — Houston  President. — Question 
of  Annexation  in  Congress. — Texas  Annexed. — Disturbances  in  Rhode 
Island. — Iowa  and  Florida  become  States. 


An  immense  concourse  of  people,  many  of  them  from 
distant  parts  of  the  Union,  assembled  at  Washington  to 
witness  the  inauguration  of  General  Harrison.  His  ad- 
dress on  that  occasion  was  replete  with  wisdom  ; liberal 
and  generous,  and  patriotic  in  its  tone  ; a transcript  of 
the  sincerity  of  his  own  heart.  His  selection  of  officers  to 
compose  his  Cabinet  was  unanimously  confirmed  by  the 
Senate  ; at  its  head  was  Daniel  Webster,  as  Secretary  of 
State. 

The  certainty  of  a change  of  policy  in  the  measures 
s>f  the  General  Government  inspired  confidence  in  the 
commercial  world,  and  the  nation,  made  wiser  by  adver- 
sity, began  to  hope.  But  the  expectations  of  the  Presi- 
dent's friends  were  doomed  to  be  sadly  disappointed.  His 
first  official  act  was  to  issue  a proclamation,  calling  a 
special  session  of  Congress,  to  meet  on  the  31st  of  the 


CHAP 

L. 


1541 

Aflar. 

t. 


736 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

L. 


1841. 

April. 


May 

31. 


following  May,  to  take  into  consideration  the  condition  of 
the  country.  Before  that  day  arrived,  the  President  was 
no  more.  Suddenly  taken  ill,  all  human  remedies  failed 
to  give  relief,  and  he  expired,  just  one  month  after  his 
inauguration,  in  his  sixty-ninth  year.  For  the  first  time, 
death  had  removed  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Union 
when  in  office.  The  loss  came  home  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  Throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land 
they  vied  with  each  other  in  doing  honor  to  his  memory 
Since  the  death  of  Washington,  the  nation  had  not 
mourned  a loss  with  such  imposing  ceremonies.  This  deep 
and  pervading  sentiment  of  sorrow  was  the  tribute  due  the 
memory  of  a good  man  ; one  who  had  served  his  country 
with  most  scrupulous  integrity  for  more  than  forty  years  ; 
whose  whole  life,  public  and  private,  was  without  reproach. 
Though  in  public  office  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  hia 
salaries  had  passed  away  in  charities  and  hospitalities  ; 
to  his  house  the  humblest  of  the  land  as  well  as  the  most 
exalted,  had  been  welcomed ; the  poor  man’s  friend,  he 
himself  died  poor.  At  its  very  first  session  after  his 
death,  Congress,  “ out  of  consideration  of  his  expenses  in 
removing  to  the  seat  of  government,  and  the  limited 
means  which  he  had  left  behind,”  granted  his  widow  one 
year’s  presidential  salary — twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 

JOHN  TYLER. 

The  Vice-President  became  the  President,  according 
to  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution.  He  retained  the 
Cabinet  of  his  predecessor,  giving  them  assurances  of  his 
respect.  Congress  convened  for  the  extra  session  at  the 
time  designated.  One  of  its  first  measures  wTas  to  repeal 
the  Sub-Treasury  act  of  the  last  administration.  To 
this  regulation  for  the  keeping  of  the  public  funds  much 
of  the  pressure  in  the  money  market  was  attributed. 

The  failures  in  the  mercantile  world  had  brought  ruiD 


THE  NATIONAL  BANK THE  VETOES. 


737 


apon  thousands  of  upright  and  enterprising  men.  They  chap 

had  become  hopelessly  bankrupt,  in  many  instances,  by  

circumstances  beyond  their  control  ; involved  in  debts,  1S4& 
which  would  forever  crush  their  energies  without  bene- 
fitting  their  creditors,  themselves,  or  the  country.  To 
relieve  persons  thus  insolvent,  Congress  passed  a general 
bankrupt  law.  The  effect  of  the  measure  was  beneficial, 
and  when  the  necessity  for  its  existence  had  passed  away, 
it  was  repealed. 

One  of  the  issues  involved  in  the  last  presidential 
election,  was  the  policy  of  establishing  a United  States 
Bank  or  “ Financial  Agent/'  which  should  facilitate  mer- 
cantile exchanges  throughout  the  Union.  The  result  of 
the  election  had  shown  that  the  majority  of  the  people 
were  in  favor  of  such  an  institution.  In  compliance  with 
this  expression  of  the  popular  will,  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress passed  a bill  chartering  such  a National  Bank. 
Contrary  to  expectation,  the  President  refused  to  give  it  his 
signature.  Another  bill  was  passed,  modified  in  its  pro- 
visions to  accord  with  his  own  suggestions.  This  he  also 
refused  to  sign.  These  successive  vetoes  raised  a terrible 
storm  of  indignation  against  their  author,  though  when 
nominated  he  was  known  to  be  opposed  to  the  United 
States  Bank.  The  great  party,  by  whose  votes  he  held 
his  high  position,  charged  him  with  double  dealing  ; with 
betraying  the  trust  they  had  committed  to  his  hands. 

The  members  of  his  cabinet  immediately  resigned  their 
places,  and  gave  to  the  country  their  reasons  for  so  doing. 
Daniel  Webster  alone  remained,  lest  the  public  interests 
would  suffer  by  his  withdrawal  before  the  completion  of 
certain  negotiations  upon  which  he  was  then  engaged. 

Between  the  United  States  government  and  that  of 
Great  Britain  two  important  questions  of  controversy  re- 
mained unadjusted.  One  growing  out  of  certain  revolu- 


738 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  tionary  disturbances  along  the  Canada  borders  ; and  the 

other  in  relation  to  the  north-eastern  boundary  between 

1842.  the  State  of  Maine  and  the  British  province  of  New 
Brunswick.  The  former  of  these  had  been  pending  dur- 
ing the  previous  administration,  the  latter  for  fifty  years. 

Soon  after  entering  upon  his  duties  as  Secretary  of 
State,  Mr.  Webster,  with  the  sanction  of  the  President, 
intimated  to  the  British  Minister  at  Washington,  that 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  was  desirous  to 
arrange  the  boundary  dispute  by  agreeing  on  a line  by 
compromise,  or  convention.  The  proposition  was  received 
in  the  friendly  spirit  in  which  it  had  been  given,  and  the 
British  ministry  deputed  Lord  Ashburton,  as  special 
minister  to  the  United  States,  with  full  powers  to  settle 
1837  all  points  of  controversy  between  the  two  governments. 

During  the  first  year  of  Van  Buren's  administration 
the  people  of  both  the  Canadas  endeavored  to  throw  off 
their  allegiance  to  England,  and  to  declare  themselves  in- 
dependent. This  movement  enlisted  the  sympathies  of 
great  numbers  in  the  neighboring  States.  In  northern 
New  York  associations  were  formed,  called  “ Hunters' 
Lodges,"  whose  object  was  to  aid  the  patriots.  These 
illegal  combinations  flourished  in  spite  of  the  efforts  made 
by  the  President  and  the  Governor  of  Newr  York  to  sup- 
press them. 

About  seven  hundred  of  these  “ sympathizers,"  with 
some  of  the  patriots,  took  possession  of  Navy  Island,  in 
Niagara  river,  near  the  Canada  shore,  to  which  province  it 
belonged.  Thither  the  steamboat  Caroline  was  employed 
in  transporting  men,  arms,  and  provisions  from  Schlosser, 
on  the  American  shore.  The  British  authorities  deter- 
mined to  destroy  this  boat.  Accordingly  a detachment 
was  sent  on  a dark  night  in  December  for  that  purpose  ; 
the  officer  in  command  not  finding  the  boat  at  Navy 
Island,  as  expected,  passed  over  to  Schlosser,  where  she 
was  moored  \t  the  dock.  He  captured  the  boat,  and  iD 


THE  AFFAIR  OF  THE  CAROLINE MCLEOD. 


739 


the  short  struggle  which  ensued,  an  American  was  killed,  chap. 

The  Caroline  was  taken  out  into  the  middle  of  the  stream,  

there  set  on  fire,  and  left  to  pass  over  the  falls  in  a blaze.  1837. 
The  British  Minister  at  Washington,  Mr.  Fox,  imme- 
diately avowed  the  act,  and  justified  it  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  done  in  self-defence.  This  avowal  changed  the 
aspect  of  the  controversy — it  was  now  between  the  gov- 
ernments. The  excitement  was  by  no  means  allayed,  nor 
the  activity  of  the  “ lodges”  diminished.  Three  years  1840, 
afterward  a still  stronger  feeling  of  hostility  sprang  up 
between  the  two  countries.  A certain  Alexander  Mc- 
Leod, a British  subject,  living  in  Canada,  it  was  rumored, 
had  boasted  of  being  at  the  taking  of  the  Caroline,  and 
also  that  he  himself  had  killed  the  American.  McLeod 
visited  the  State  of  New  York  at  the  time  just  mentioned, 
the  authorities  of  which  immediately  arrested  him  on  the 
charge  of  murder.  The  British  government  demanded  his 
release,  unconditionally,  on  the  ground  that  he  was  obey- 
ing the  orders  of  his  government,  which  alone  was  respon- 
sible. The  State  refused  to  relinquish,  either  to  the 
National  Government  or  to  Great  Britain,  her  right  to 
bring  the  prisoner  to  trial,  for  the  crime  it  was  alleged  he 
had  committed  on  her  soil.  The  trial  came  on,  and  Mc- 
Leod was  acquitted,  he  having  proved  that  he  was  not 
present  at  the  affray  at  all.  In  order  to  prevent,  for  the 
future,  clashings  of  State  jurisdiction  with  that  of  the 
National  Government,  Congress  passed  a law  requiring 
similar  cases  to  be  transferred  to  the  United  States  courts. 

While  these  events  were  in  progress  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  difficulties,  equally  ominous,  were  brewing  on 
the  north-eastern  boundary.  The  inhabitants  on  either 
side  undertook  to  say  where  the  line  should  be  ; as  they 
could  not  agree,  the  more  belligerent  were  in  favor  of 
fighting,  and  consequently  some  trifling  collisions  took 
place.  The  Legislature  of  Maine  even  appropriated 
money  for  the  defence  of*  her  territorial  rights — and  further 


740 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP,  collisions  were  prevented  only  by  the  conciliatory  and  ju- 

dicious  policy  of  General  Scott,  who  was  sent  by  the 

1840.  President  to  maintain  the  peace. 

These  disputes  so  long  unsettled,  very  greatly  dis- 
turbed the  harmony  existing  between  the  two  nations. 
The  correspondence  between  their  governments  shows  that 
at  this  time  the  controversy  had  assumed  a serious  and 
delicate  character,  and  that  it  required  the  exercise  of 
great  wisdom,  and  a mutual  conciliatory  spirit  to  prevent 
actual  war. 

When  negotiations  commenced,  commissioners  from 
the  States  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts  were  invited  to 
Washington,  that  they  might  be  consulted  on  the  subject. 
The  treaty  was  soon  concluded.  The  United  States  ob- 
tained the  navigation  of  the  river  St.  John's  to  its  mouth, 
and  the  very  important  military  position — Rouse's  Point, 
at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Champlain.  In  exchange  for  these 
were  given  a small  territory  of  swamps,  heath,  and  rocks, 
and  barren  mountains,  covered  with  snow  the  greater  part 
of  the  year.  A territory  valuable  to  Great  Britain  only 
because  it  enabled  her  to  make  a direct  road  from  the 
province  of  New  Brunswick  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  Both 
nations  were  benefited  by  the  arrangement,  and  the  vexa- 
tious question  of  more  than  half  a century's  standing  was 
amicably  settled. 

Another  article  provided  for  the  mutual  rendition  of 
fugitives  from  justice  ; but  only  those  who  had  committed 
acts  which  would  be  deemed  criminal  in  the  country 
where  they  had  taken  refuge.  This  important  measure 
has  given  general  satisfaction  to  both  the  contracting 
parties,  and  has  served  since  as  a model  for  similar  treaties 
between  some  of  the  European  powers.  The  two  govern- 
ments also  agreed  to  maintain  each  a certain  number  of 
armed  vessels  on  the  coast  of  Africa  to  aid  in  suppressing 
the  slave-trade. 

After  the  treaty  was  concluded  two  important  sub- 


THE  QUESTIONS  OF  SEARCH  AND  IMPRESSMENT. 


741 


jects  unexpectedly  came  up  for  discussion.  One  was  tlie  chap, 

right  assumed  by  British  cruisers  to  visit,  and  if  necessary  

search,  merchant  vessels  belonging  toother  nations.  In  a 1842. 
letter  to  the  American  minister  at  London,  and  designed 
for  the  English  secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Webster  de- 
nied the  “ right/'  and  sustained  his  opinions  against  its 
exercise  by  arguments  that  have  not  yet  been  invalidated. 

The  other  subject  was  the  impressment  of  seamen  by 
British  cruisers  from  American  merchant  vessels.  In  a 
better  to  Lord  Ashburton  the  Secretary  of  State  assumed 
that  it  did  not  comport  with  the  self-respect  of  the  United 
States  to  enter  into  stipulations  in  relation  to  the  right 
of  impressment  ; as  if  for  a moment  the  existence  of  such 
a right  could  be  admitted.  On  the  contrary-that  the  ex- 
ercise of  impressment  should  be  deemed  an  aggression  and 
repelled  as  such.  In  an  able  and  conciliatory  discussion 
he  pointed  out  the  inconsistency  of  such  a right  with  the 
laws  of  nations.  Yet  in  the  happiest  language  expressed 
the  desire  that  for  the  welfare  of  both  countries,  all  occa- 
sions of  irritation  should  be  removed.  He  announced  as 
the  basis  of  the  policy  of  the  United  States  : tc  Every 
merchant- vessel  on  the  high  seas  is  rightfully  considered 
as  a part  of  the  territory  of  the  country  to  which  it  be- 
longs ; ” that  “ in  every  regularly  documented  American 
merchant-vessel  the  crew  who  navigate  it  will  find  their 
protection  in  the  flag  which  is  over  them,”  and  that  “ the 
American  Government,  then,  is  prepared  to  say  that  the 
practice  of  impressing  seamen  from  American  vessels  can- 
not hereafter  be  allowed  to  take  place.”  1 In  the  same  just 
and  conciliatory  spirit  was  the  reply  of  Lord  Ashburton. 

An  apology  was  impliedly  given  for  the  invasion  of 
the  territory  of  the  United  States  in  the  “ affair  of  the 
Caroline.”  The  negotiators  conferred  informally  upon  the 
subject  of  the  northern  boundary  of  Oregon,  but  for  the 


1 The  Works  of  Daniel  Webster,  vol.  vi.  p.  325. 


742 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  present  agreed  to  postpone  its  settlement.  The  treaty  ol 

Washington  marks  an  important  era  in  our  history  : — the 

1842.  time  when  the  United  States  took  that  position  among 
the  nations,  to  which  they  were  entitled  by  their  power 
and  influence.  Four  years  after,  Webster  said  on  the 
floor  of  the  Senate: — “I  am  willing  to  appeal  to  the 
public  men  of  the  age,  whether,  in  1842,  and  in  the  city 
of  Washington,  something  was  not  done  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  crime,  for  the  true  exposition  of  public  law,  for  the 
freedom  and  securitv  of  commerce  on  the  ocean,  and  for 
the  peace  of  the  world  ? ” 

The  government  had  not  been  forgetful  of  the  ad- 
vancement of  science.  It  sent  out  an  exploring  expedi- 
1838.  tion,  under  Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes  of  the  United 
States  navy,  accompanied  by  a corps  of  scientific  men,  to 
make  discoveries  in  the  Antarctic  and  Pacific  oceans. 
After  four  years  it  returned  bringing  the  results  of  inves- 
1842.  tigations  in  Natural  History,  not  valuable  to  our  own 
country  alone,  but  to  the  world.  It  sailed  ninety  thousand 
miles,  seventeen  hundred  of  which  were  along  the  coast 
of  a great  Antarctic  Continent  never  seen  before  by  civil- 
ized man. 

The  four  years  of  this  administration  was  a period 
fruitful  in  measures,  destined,  in  their  remote  consequences, 
to  have  a varied  and  almost  unlimited  influence  upon  the 
nation.  A more  important  question  never  came  before 
the  Houses  of  Congress,  than  when  the  young  Republic 
of  Texas  presented  herself  at  their  doors,  and  asked  to  be 
annexed  to  the  Union.  She  came  offering  a fertile  ter- 
ritory almost  sufficient  in  extent  to  make  five  such  States 
as  Pennsylvania  or  New  York.  The  “ annexation/'  led  tG 
the  Mexican  war,  and  that  in  turn  to  the  acquisition  of 
California. 

The  region  known  as  Texas  had  been  claimed,  but  on 
doubtful  grounds,  as  a part  of  the  already  purchased  ter- 


MOSES  AUSTIN IMMIGRATION  TO  TEXAS. 


743 


ritory  of  Louisiana.  This  claim  was,  he  wever,  waived,  and  chap. 

when  Florida  was  obtained  Texas  was  tacitly  admitted  to  

belong  to  Spain,  and  when  Mexico  revolted  from  the  1842. 
mother  country,  she  became  one  of  the  confederated  States 
which  formed  the  Mexican  republic. 

The  American  who  originated  the  plan  of  colonizing 
Texas,  was  Moses  Austin,  a native  of  Durham,  Connec- 
ticut. He  was  engaged  in  working  the  lead  mines  in 
upper  Louisiana,  when,  in  his  explorations,  he  became 
acquainted  with  the  fertile  soil  and  delightful  climate  of 
Texas.  The  Spanish  Government  encouraged  immigra- 
tion to  that  part  of  the  Mexican  territory,  and  it  gave 
Austin  large  grants  of  land,  on  condition  that  he  would  1813. 
introduce  as  colonists  three  hundred  Catholic  families 
from  Louisiana.  Within*  a month  after  these  arrange- 
ments were  completed,  Austin  himself  died,  but  appointed 
his  son  Stephen  F.  Austin  to  superintend  the  planting  of 
the  colony  according  to  the  agreement  with  the  Spanish 
government.  To  his  energy  and  perseverance  may  he 
attributed  the  success  of  the  enterprise. 

Little  was  known  at  Mexico  of  what  was  in  progress 
in  that  remote  region.  The  Americans,  attracted  by  the 
liberal  grants  of  land  and  the  fine  climate,  were  pouring 
in.  In  a few  years  they  numbered  twenty  thousand,  very  \ssQ, 
few  of  whom  were  Catholics,  nor  did  they  all  come  from 
Louisiana,  but  from  the  other  Southern  and  Western 
States. 

Meantime  in  Mexico  other  great  changes  were  in  prog- 
ress. First  came  the  revolution  by  which  she  declared  1821 
herself  no  longer  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Spain.  This 
was  succeeded  by  a confederation  of  States.  In  that  un- 
happy country  one  revolution  succeeded  another  in  rapid 
succession,  till  finally,  Santa  Anna,  overthrowing  the  ex- 
isting republic,  made  himself  dictator  and  tyrant  of  the 
people,  inuring  mis  time  tne  Texans  cua  not  revolt,  nor 


744 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  did  they  acquiesce.  They  formed  a constitution,  and 
sent  Austin  to  Mexico  to  ask  admission  into  the  con- 

1835.  federacy  of  the  republic  as  a State.  This  request  was  de- 
nied, and  their  messenger  thrown  into  prison.  Still  Texas 
retained  her  State  officers,  and  asked  that  her  rights  might 
be  respected  ; when  an  armed  Mexican  vessel  appeared 
off  the  coast,  and  proclaimed  that  her  ports  were  block- 
aded ; near  the  same  time  a Mexican  army  appeared  on 
her  western  borders,  with  the  intention  of  arresting  her 
State  officers,  and  disarming  the  inhabitants.  It  was 
much  easier  to  demand  the  Texan  rifles  than  to  get  them. 

Sept.  The  attempt  was  made  at  a place  named  Gonzales,  where 
the  Mexicans  met  with  a severe  repulse.  The  Texans, 
though  few  in  number,  flew  to  arms  throughout  the  entire 
country,  and  in  a few  months  drove  the  invaders  from 
their  soil,  and  captured  and  garrisoned  the  strong  forts  of 
the  Goliad  and  the  mission  house  of  Alamo.  Thus  they 
manfully  resisted  the  designs  of  Santa  Anna  to  make 
them  submit  to  his  usurped  authority,  and  the  struggle 
commenced  for  their  rights,  their  liberties  and  their  lives. 

There  were  no  bonds  of  sympathy  between  the  Texans 
and  Mexicans  : neither  in  religion  nor  in  customs,  nor  in 
form  of  government.  The  Texan  despised  the  Mexican, 
and  the  Mexican  hated  and  feared  the  Texan. 

1836.  Six  months  after  these  reverses  Santa  Anna  invaded 
Texas  with  a numerous  army.  The  chaiacter  of  the  war 
he  intended  to  wage  may  he  inferred  from  his  cruel  orders 
to  shoot  every  prisoner  taken.  The  Alamo  was  invested 
by  Santa  Anna  himself.  The  garrison  numbered  only 
one  hundred  and  eighty  men,  while  their  enemies  were  as 
sixteen  to  their  one.  When  summoned  to  surrender,  they, 
knowing  the  treacherous  character  of  the  Mexican  Chief, 
refused.  The  latter  immediately  raised  the  blood-red  flag, 
to  indicate  that  he  would  give  no  quarter.  After  repulsing 

^ the  besiegers  several  times,  the  Texans,  worn  out  with 
6.  watchings  and  labors,  were  overcome,  and  when  calling  foi 


DAVY  CROCKET PRISONERS  MURDERED. 


745 


quarter  the  survivors — only  seven — were  mercilessly  chap. 
butchered.  

Here,  surrounded  by  the  bodies  of  Mexicans  who  had  1836. 
fallen  by  his  hand,  perished  the  eccentric  Davy  Crocket. 

Born  on  the  frontiers  of  Tennessee,  his  only  education  was 
that  received  during  two  months  in  a common  school. 
Though  singular  in  his  mental  characteristics,  his  strong 
common  sense  and  undaunted  spirit,  won  him  the  respect 
of  his  fellow- citizens,  and  they  sent  him  several  times  to 
represent  them  in  Congress.  When  he  heard  of  the  strug- 
gle in  which  the  people  of  Texas  were  engaged,  he  hastened 
to  their  aid,  and  with  untiring  energy  devoted  himself  to 
their  cause. 

At  Goliad  the  little  garrison  defended  themselves  with 
unexampled  bravery ; not  until  their  resources  failed, 
their  ammunition  exhausted,  and  famine  was  staring  them 
in  the  face,  did  they  accept  the  terms  offered  by  the  Mexi- 
can in  command,  and  surrendered.  Their  lives  were  to 
be  spared,  and  they  aided  to  leave  the  country.  Other 
small  parties  of  Texans  in  different  places  had  been  sur- 
prised and  taken  prisoners.  The  following  night  a courier 
arrived  from  Santa  Anna,  bringing  orders  to  put  the 
prisoners  to  death  the  next  morning. 

They  were  marched  in  little  companies  outside  the 
town,  and  there  shot  ; those  attempting  to  escape  were 
cut  down  by  the  cavalry.  The  wounded  prisoners  were 
then  murdered  in  the  same  cruel  manner ; among  the 
wounded  who  thus  suffered,  was  Colonel  Fanning,  their 
commander.  Thus  perished  three  hundred  and  thirty 
men,  the  last  words  of  some  of  whom  were  cheers  for  the 
liberty  of  Texas. 

A Texan  physician,  Dr.  Grant,  was  among  the 
prisoners,  but  his  life  was  spared  on  condition  that  he 
would  attend  the  wounded  Mexican  soldiers.  He  was 
also  promised  that  he  should  have  a passport  to  leave  the 
country  as  soon  as  they  needed  his  services  no  more.  He 


746 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


C^LP‘  faithfull7  performed  his  part,  but  when  the  soldiers  were 

cured,  he  was  tied  upon  a wild  horse,  and  told  to  take  “ his 

1836.  passport  and  start  for  home.”  The  cords  were  cut,  and 
the  frightened  animal  rushed  to  the  woods,  where,  some 
time  after,  the  mangled  body  of  the  poor  man  was  found. 

Santa  Anna,  with  an  army  of  seven  thousand  men, 
moved  on  toward  the  San  Jacinto  river.  General  Samuel 
Houston  had  only  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men,  their 
only  weapons  rifles,  pistols  and  bowie-knives  ; in  their 
element  when  fighting,  they  were  impatient  to  attack  the 
enemy.  The  advance  division,  consisting  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred men,  under  the  command  of  Santa  Anna  himself, 
was  the  flower  of  the  Mexican  army.  The  Mexicans 
were  well  posted,  and  their  front,  before  which  was  an 
open  grassy  space,  was  carefully  fortified.  Houston  had 
great  difficulty  in  restraining  his  men.  At  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  when  Santa  Anna  and  his  officers  were  en- 
joying a sleep,  and  their  men  engaged  in  playing  cards, 
Houston  passed  information  along  the  line  that  the  only 
bridge  by  which  the  enemy  could  escape  was  cut  down, 
with  the  order  to  move  rapidly  to  the  attack.  The  sur- 
prise was  complete.  In  twenty  minutes  their  position 
was  forced,  and  the  panic  stricken  Mexicans  leaving  every 
thing,  fled  in  confusion.  More  than  six  hundred  were 
slain,  and  altogether  more  than  eight  hundred  taken 
prisoners.  The  following  day  a Mexican  was  found  skulk- 
ing in  the  grass.  He  asked  to  he  led  to  head-quarters. 
When  brought  to  the  Oak  under  which  were  the  Texan 
head-quarters,  he  made  himself  known  as  Santa  Anna. 
He  complimented  Houston  on  the  renown  he  had  acquired 
in  “ conquering  the  Napoleon  of  the  West.”  Such  was 
April  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto;  the  number  engaged  were  com- 
2J.  paratively  few,  yet  it  virtually  ended  the  contest.  Santa 
Anna,  at  the  request  of  Houston,  ordered  the  Mexican 
army  to  retire  from  the  Territory  of  Texas.  He  also  ac- 


TEXAS  INDEPENDENT — QUESTION  OF  ANNEXATION. 


747 


knowledged  the  independence  of  Texas,  hut  the  Mexican 
Congress  refused  to  ratify  his  act. 

A month  previous  to  this  battle,  a convention  of  dele- 
gates met  at  a place  named  Washington,  and  declared 
themselves  independent  of  Mexico.  The  convention  then 
proceeded  to  form  a Constitution,  which  in  due  time  was 
adopted  by  the  people.  Six  months  later  Houston  was 
inaugurated  President  of  the  Republic  of  Texas  ; and  its 
first  Congress  assembled.1 

When  its  people  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  Mexico, 
they  naturally  turned  to  more  congenial  associations  ; 
they  desired  to  annex  themselves  to  the  United  States. 

One  of  the  last  official  acts  of  General  Jackson  had 
been  to  sign  a bill  recognizing  their  independence,  and 
now  the  question  of  their  annexation  became  the  absorbing 
topic  of  political  discussion  in  the  United  States,  in 
every  section  of  which  many  opposed  the  measure  only 
on  the  ground  that  it  would  incur  a war  with  Mexico, 
whose  government  still  persisted  in  fruitless  efforts  to  re- 
duce the  Texans  to  obedience.  The  interminable  ques- 
tion of  slavery,  as  usual,  was  involved  in  the  controversy. 
The  South  was  almost  unanimously  in  favor  of  annexa- 
tion. The  genial  climate,  the  fertile  soil,  and  the  varied 
productions  of  Texas,  were  so  many  pledges  that  slave 
labor  would  there  be  profitable.  A strong  party  in  the 
North  was  opposed  to  the  measure,  lest  it  should  perpetu- 
ate that  institution,  while  one  in  the  South  was  devising 
plans  to  preserve  the  balance  of  power  existing  between 
the  States  in  the  Senate. 

The  subject  of  annexation,  with  its  varied  conse- 
quences, was  warmly  discussed  in  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress, in  the  newspapers,  and  in  the  assemblies  of  the 
people. 

Calhoun  gave  his  views  by  saying  : “ There  were 


CHAP. 

L. 


1836. 

April 

21. 


Oct. 


1844, 


1 Yoakum’s  Hist,  of  Texas. 


748 


HISTORY  OP  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  powerful  reasons  why  Texas  should  he  a part  of  this 

Union.  The  Southern  States,  owning  a slave  population 

1844.  were  deeply  interested  in  preventing  that  country  from 
having  power  to  annoy  them.”  Said  Webster:  “ That 
while  I hold  to  all  the  original  arrangements  and  compro- 
mises under  which  the  Constitution  under  which  we  now 
live  was  adopted,  I never  could,  and  never  can,  persuade 
myself  to  be  in  favor  of  the  admission  of  other  States  into 
the  Union,  as  slave  States,  with  the  inequalities  which 
were  allowed  and  accorded  by  the  Constitution  to  the 
slaveholding  States  then  in  existence/' 

Under  the  auspices  of  Calhoun,  who  was  now  Secre 
tary  of  State,  a treaty  was  secretly  made  with  Texas,  by 
which  she  was  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union.  But  the 
Senate  immediately  rejected  it  by  a vote  more  than  two 
to  one,  on  the  ground  that  to  carry  out  its  provisions 
would  involve  the  country  in  a war  with  Mexico.  This 
rejection  was  the  signal  for  raising  a great  clamor  through- 
out the  land.  Annexation  was  made  a prominent  issue 
in  the  pending  presidential  election — the  Democratic  party 
in  favor  of  the  measure,  and  the  Whigs  opposed.  To  in- 
fluence the  credulous,  it  was  boldly  asserted  that  England 
was  negotiating  with  Texas  to  buy  her  slaves,  free  them, 
and,  having  quieted  Mexico,  to  take  the  republic  under 
her  special  protection.  This  story  General  Houston  said 
was  a pure  fabrication  ; yet  it  served  a purpose.  In  cer- 
tain portions  of  the  South  conventions  were  held,  in  which 
the  sentiment  “ Texas,  or  Disunion,"  was  openly  advocated. 
The  threats  of  secession  and  uniting  with  Texas,  unless 
she  was  admitted  to  the  Union,  had  but  little  effect, 
however,  upon  the  great  mass  of  the  people. 

The  following  year  it  was  proposed  to  receive  Texas 
by  a joint  resolution  of  Congress.  The  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives passed  a bill  to  that  effect,  but  the  Senate 
added  an  amendment,  appointing  commissioners  to  nego- 


THE  JOINT  RESOLUTIONS — TEXAS  ANNEXED. 


749 


tiate  with  Mexico  on  the  subject.  Thus  manifesting  a chap. 

desire  to  respect  the  rights  of  Mexico  as  a nation  with  . 

whom  we  were  at  peace,  and  at  least  make  an  effort  to  1844, 
obtain  the  annexation  with  her  consent,  and  also  the 
settlement  of  boundaries. 

By  a clause  in  the  resolutions  the  President  was 
authorized  to  adopt  either  plan.  The  joint  resolutions 
were  passed  on  Saturday,  the  2d  of  March  ; Tyler  would 
ieave  office  two  days  later.  The  President  elect,  James 
K.  Polk,  had  intimated  that  if  the  question  came  before 
him  he  should  adopt  the  Senate's  plan,  by  which  it  was 
hoped  an  amicable  arrangement  could  be  made  with 
Mexico.1  The  retiring  President,  and  his  Secretary  of 
State,  chose  to  adopt  the  mode  of  annexation  proposed  in 
the  House  resolutions.  A messenger  was  sent  on  Sunday 
night  the  3d,  to  carry  the  proposition  with  all  speed  to 
the  Legislature  of  Texas. 

The  opposition  to  annexing  slaveholding  territory  to  the 
Union  was  so  great  that  Texas  came  in  by  compromise. 
Provision  was  made  that  four  additional  States  might  be 
formed  out  of  the  Territory  when  it  should  become  suffi- 
ciently populous.  Those  States  lying  north  of  the  parallel 
of  thirty-six  degrees  thirty  minutes,  north  latitude — the 
Missouri  Compromise  line — were  to  be  free  States  ; those 
south  of  the  line,  to  “ be  admitted  into  the  Union  with  or 
without  slavery  as  the  people  of  each  State  asking  admission 
may  desire."  To  the  original  State,  the  right  was  accorded 
to  prevent  any  State  being  formed  out  of  her  territory,  by 
refusing  her  consent  to  the  measure.  Texas  acceded  to  1845 
the  proposition,  and  thus  became  one  of  the  United  States,  'ffily 
Her  population  now  amounted  to  two  hundred  thousand. 

For  nearly  two  hundred  years  the  people  of  Rhode 
Island  had  lived  under  the  charter  granted  by  Charles  II. 

This  instrument  was  remarkable  for  the  liberal  provisions 


Benton’s  Thirty  Years’  View,  Chap,  cxlviii.,  Yol.  ii. 


750 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  it  contained.  Tlie  desire  to  change  this  charter  gave  rise 

* to  two  parties,  the  “ Suffrage,”  and  “ The  Law  and 

1845.  Order each  determined  to  secure  to  their  own  party 
the  administration  of  affairs,  and  each  elected  State  offi 
cers.  Thomas  W.  Dorr,  elected  governor  by  the  Suf- 
frage party,  tried  to  seize  the  State  arsenal ; the  militia 
1843.  were  called  out  by  the  other  party,  and  he  was  compelled 
^ee*  a second  attempt  his  party  was  overpowered 
by  citizen  soldiers,  and  he  himself  arrested,  brought  to 
trial,  convicted  of  treason,  and  sentenced  to  imprison- 
ment for  life  ; but  some  time  afterward  he  was  pardoned. 
A free  constitution  was  in  the  mean  time  adopted  by  the 
people,  under  which  they  are  now  living. 

Almost  the  last  official  act  of  President  Tyler  was  to 
sign  the  bill  for  the  admission  of  Iowa  and  Florida  into 
the  Union.  “ Two  States  which  seem  to  have  but  few 
tilings  in  common  to  put  them  together — one  the  oldest, 
the  other  the  newest  territory — one  in  the  extreme  north- 
west of  the  Union,  the  other  in  the  extreme  south-east — 
one  the  land  of  evergreens  and  perpetual  flowers,  the 
other  the  climate  of  long  and  rigorous  winter — one  main- 
taining, the  other  repulsing  slavery.” 

In  addition  to  passing  a tariff  bill,  under  whose  influ- 
ence the  industries  of  the  country  greatly  revived,  this 
progressive  Congress  conferred  a lasting  benefit  on  the 
1842.  Xation  by  cheapening  the  postage  on  letters,  then  a bur- 
densome tax  on  the  social  correspondence  of  the  people 
and  the  business  of  the  country.  This  measure  was  per- 
sistently opposed  from  session  to  session,  especially  by 
the  members  from  that  section  that  never  paid  its  own 
postage.  When  the  first  bill  passed,  the  letter  which 
now  costs  three  cents  cost  from  two  to  ten  times  as 
much  and  even  more,  according  to  the  distance  carried. 
It  took  twenty-one  years  of  gradual  reduction  to  bring 
the  rate  of  postage  down  to  what  it  is  to-day.  This  fre- 
quent and  cheap  intercourse  by  letters  and  newspapers  is 
of  immense  value  to  a nation  constituted  as  we  are. 


CHAPTER  LI 


POLK’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

The  Presidential  Canvass. — Difficulties  with  Mexico. — General  Taylor  at 
Corpus  Christ!. — Oregon  Territory  ; respective  Claims  to. — Settlement 
of  Boundary. — Taylor  marches  to  the  Rio  Grande. — Thornton’s  Party 
surprised. — Attack  on  Fort  Brown. — Battle  of  Palo  Alto ; of  Resaca 
de  la  Palma. — Matamoras  occupied. — Measures  of  Congress. — The 
Volunteers. — Plan  of  Operations. — Mexico  declares  War. — General 
Wool. — General  Worth.— The  Capture  of  Monterey. 


On  the  4th  of  March,  James  Knox  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  CHAP. 

was  inaugurated  President,  and  George  Mifflin  Dallas,  of  1_ 

Pennsylvania,  Vice-President  ; James  Buchanan  was  ap-  1345. 
pointed  Secretary  of  State. 

The  canvass  had  been  one  of  unusual  interest  and 
spirit.  The  candidates  of  the  Whig  party  were  Henry 
Clay  and  Theodore  Frelinghuysen.  The  questions  in- 
volved were  the  admission  of  Texas,  and  the  settlement 
of  the  boundary  line  on  the  north-west,  between  the 
British  possessions  and  Oregon.  The  latter — for  the 
Whigs  were  also  in  favor  of  its  settlement — thrown  in  by 
the  successful  party. 

The  result  of  the  election  was  assumed  to  be  the  ex- 
pression of  the  will  of  the  people  in  relation  to  the  ad- 
mission of  Texas,  which  measure,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
expiring  administration  had  already  consummated.  We 
have  now  to  record  the  events,  the  consequences  in  part 
of  that  measure. 

Though  France  and  England,  as  well  as  the  United 


752 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP.  States,  acknowledged  the  independence  of  Texas,  Mexico 

‘ still  claimed  the  territory,  and  threatened  to  maintain 

1845.  her  claim  by  force  of  arms.  In  accordance  with  this 
sentiment,  two  days  after  the  inauguration  of  the  new 
President,  General  Almonte,  the  Mexican  minister  at 
Washington,  formally  protested  against  the  “joint  reso- 
lutions” of  Congress,  then  demanded  his  passports  and 
left  the  country. 

There  were  other  points  of  dispute  between  the  two 
governments.  American  merchants  residing  in  Mexico, 
complained  that  their  property  had  been  appropriated  by 
that  government ; that  their  ships,  trading  along  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf,  had  been  plundered,  and  they  could 
obtain  no  redress.  The  United  States  government  again 
and  again  remonstrated  against  these  outrages.  The 
Mexican  government,  poverty-stricken  and  distracted  by 
broils,  was  almost  in  a state  of  anarchy  ; each  party  as  it 
came  into  power  repudiated  the  engagements  made  by  its 
predecessor. 

1881.  A treaty  had  been  signed  by  which  redress  for  these 
grievances  was  promised  ; the  promise  was  not  fulfilled, 
and  the  aggressions  continued.  Nine  years  later  the 
Mexican  government  again  acknowledged  the  justness  of 
these  demands,  which  now  amounted  to  six  millions  of 
dollars,  and  pledged  itself  to  pay  them  in  twenty  instal- 
ments, of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  each.  Three  of 
these  had  been  paid,  when  the  annexation  of  Texas  took 
place,  and,  in  consequence  of  that  event,  Mexico  refused 
further  compliance  with  the  treaty. 

Even  if  Mexico  gave  her  consent  for  the  annexation 
of  Texas,  another  question  arose  : What  was  the  western 
boundary  of  that  territory ; the  Nueces  or  the  Rio 
Grande  ? Both  parties  claimed  the  region  lying  between 
these  two  rivers.  The  Legislature  of  Texas,  alarmed  ai 
the  warlike  attitude  assumed  by  Mexico,  requested  the 
United  States  government  to  protect  their  territory.  Ac- 


TAYLOR  AT  CORPUS  CHR1STI — THE  OREGON  QUESTION. 


753 


cordingly  the  President  sen  t General  Zachary  Taylor,  with  ci*ap 

fifteen  hundred  men,  called  the  u Army  of  Occupation,”  

“ to  take  position  in  the  country  between  the  Nueces  and  1845. 
the  Rio  Grande,  and  to  repel  any  invasion  of  the  Texan 
territory.”  General  Taylor  formed  his  camp  at  Corpus 
Christi,  a small  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nueces.  There  Sept, 
he  remained  till  the  following  spring.  Also  a portion  of 
the  Home  squadron,  under  Commodore  Conner,  was  sent 
into  the  Gulf  to  co-operate  with  the  army.  Both  “ were 
ordered  to  commit  no  act  of  hostility  against  Mexico  un- 
less she  declared  war,  or  was  herself  the  aggressor  by 
striking  the  first  blow.”  1 

Though  Mexico,  in  her  weakness  and  distraction,  had 
temporized  and  recently  rejected  an  American  minister, 
yet  it  was  understood  that  she  was  now  willing  to  receive 
one,  and  accordingly  he  had  been  sent.  It  was  plain  that 
upon  the  pending  negotiations  war  or  peace  between  the 
two  republics  depended.  Meanwhile  it  was  known  that 
Mexico  was  marshalling  her  forces  for  a conflict. 

The  unsettled  question  in  relation  to  the  boundary  of 
Oregon  now  engaged  the  attention  of  the  President  and 
his  Secretary  of  State.  Great  Britain  was  from  the  first 
desirous  to  arrange  the  difficulty,  though,  as  has  been 
stated,  the  subject  was  passed  over  in  the  negotiations  of 
the  Washington  treaty. 

A few  months  after  the  ratification  of  that  treaty,  Mr. 
Henry  S.  Fox,  the  British  minister  at  Washington,  ad- 
dressed  a note  to  Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of  State 
under  Mr.  Tyler,  in  which  note  he  proposed  to  take  up 
the  subject  of  the  Oregon  boundary.  The  proposal  was 
accepted,  hut  for  some  reason  negotiations  were  not  com- 
menced. Two  years  later,  Sir  Richard  Packenham,  then 
British  minister  at  Washington,  renewed  the  proposition 


' President’s  Message,  Dec.  1845. 


754 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LI. 


1844. 

ret. 


1819. 


1828. 


*824, 

1825. 


1792. 

1811. 

1805, 

1806. 


1806. 


1844. 


to  Mr.  Upshur,  Secretary  of  State.  It  was  accepted,  but 
a few  days  after  Upshur  lost  his  life  by  the  lameu table 
explosion  on  board  the  Princeton.  Six  months  later 
Packenham  again  brought  the  matter  to  the  notice  of 
Mr.  Calhoun,  then  Secretary  of  State.  The  proposition 
was  promptly  accepted,  and  the  next  day  named  for 
taking  up  the  subject. 

The  claims  of  the  respective  parties  may  he  briefly 
noticed.  The  region  known  as  Oregon  lay  between  the  par- 
allels of  forty-two  and  fifty-four  degrees  and  forty  minutes 
north  latitude,  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  east,  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean  on  the  west.  By  the  Florida  Treaty,  Spain 
had  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  her  territory  north  of 
the  parallel  first  mentioned  ; commencing  at  the  sources  of 
the  Arkansas  and  thence  to  the  Pacific,  and  Mexico,  hav- 
ing thrown  off  the  yoke  of  Spain,  since  confirmed  by  treaty 
the  validity  of  the  same  boundary.  The  parallel  of  fifty- 
four  degrees  forty  minutes  was  agreed  upon  by  the  United 
States,  Great  Britain,  and  Russia,  as  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  the  possessions  of  the  latter  power. 

The  American  claim  was  based  upon  the  cession  of 
Spain,  who  was  really  the  first  discoverer  ; the  discovery  of 
Captain  Gray,  already  mentioned;  the  explorations  of  Lewis 
and  Clarke,  sent  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  the  settlement  established  at  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia River,  by  John  Jacob  Astor  of  New  York.  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  during  Jefferson’s  administration,  crossed  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  came  upon  the  southern  main  branch 
of  the  Columbia,  and  explored  that  river  to  its  mouth. 

The  British  claim  was  also  based  on  discovery,  and 
actual  settlement  founded  by  the  North-West  Company, 
on  Fraser’s  River,  and  also  another  on  the  head -waters  ot 
the  north  branch  of  the  Columbia. 

Calhoun  came  directly  to  the  point,  and  proposed  as 
the  boundary  the  continuation  of  the  forty-ninth  degree 


THE  OREGON  BOUNDARY  SETTLED. 


755 


of , north  latitude  to  the  Pacific.  This  line  had  already 
been  agreed  upon  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain  by  the  treaty  made  at  London,  as  the  boundary 
of  their  respective  territories  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods 
to  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Packenham, 
unwilling  to  accept  that  line,  proposed  to  follow  the  forty- 
ninth  degree  from  the  mountains — some  three  hundred 
miles — until  it  should  strike  the  north  branch  of  the  Co- 
lumbia river,  and  thence  down  that  stream  to  the  ocean. 
The  American  Secretary  declined  this,  and  as  the  British 
minister  had  no  further  instructions,  the  consideration  of 
the  subject  was  postponed. 

Meantime  the  Presidential  canvass  was  in  progress, 
and  “ all  of  Oregon  or  none  " became  one  of  the  watch- 
words of  the  Democratic  party.  So  long  as  these  senti- 
ments were  proclaimed  by  partisan  leaders  and  newspapers, 
they  were  harmless  ; but  when  the  new  President,  in  his 
inaugural  address,  asserted  that  our  title  to  “ Oregon  Ter- 
ritory ” “ was  clear  and  indisputable,”  and  moreover  inti- 
mated that  it  was  his  intention  to  maintain  it  by  arms, 
the  question  assumed  a far  different  aspect. 

The  position  thus  officially  taken,  when  the  subject 
of  the  boundary  was  under  negotiation,  took  the  British 
Government  by  surprise,  especially  since  hitherto  each 
party  had  courteously  recognized  the  other's  claim  to  a 
portion  of  the  territory.  Four  months  passed.  Meantime 
the  good  feeling  existing  between  the  two  governments 
was  seriously  disturbed  ; England  did  not  again  offer  to 
negotiate.  A mere  partisan  watchword  was  in  danger  of 
involving  both  nations  in  war.  At  length  the  President 
himself,  directed  the  Secretary  of  State  to  reopen  nego- 
tiations by  offering  as  the  boundary  the  forty-ninth  par- 
allel ; but  the  proposition  was  not  accepted  by  the  British 
minister. 

To  prepare  the  way  for  further  negotiation,  the  Presi- 


CHAP 

LI. 

1844. 

1818. 


756 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


°LfP’  ^ent  ^en  recommended  that  the  joint  occupation  of  the 

territory  should  be  abrogated,  by  giving  the  twelve 

1844.  months’  notice,  according  to  a provision  in  the  treaties  of 
1818  and  1828.  Congress  voted  to  give  the  notice. 

Sir  Robert  Peel  expressed  in  Parliament  bis  regret 
that  the  last  offer  of  the  American  Secretary  bad  not  been 
accepted,  and  soon  after  the  British  minister,  Packenham, 
communicated  to  the  Secretary  of  State  the  information 
that  his  government  would  accept  the  parallel  of  forty- 
nine,  as  recently  offered. 

The  case  admitted  of  no  delay.  The  President  was 
anxious  to  relieve  himself  of  the  responsibility  of  acting  on 
the  proposition.  On  the  suggestion  of  Senator  Benton,  of 
Missouri,  he,  following  the  example  of  Washington,  con- 
sulted the  Senate  on  the  propriety  of  accepting  this  last 
proposition,  pledging  himself  to  be  guided  by  their  decision. 
That  body  decided  to  accept  it,  “ and  gave  the  President 
a faithful  support  against  himself,  against  his  cabinet,  and 
against  his  peculiar  friends.” 

Presently  the  treaty  was  sent  into  the  Senate,  when, 
after  a spirited  debate  for  two  days,  it  was  ratified.1  By 
this  treaty,  the  parallel  of  forty-nine  degrees  North  lati- 
tude was  agreed  upon  as  the  boundary  to  the  middle  of 
the  channel  between  Vancouver’s  Island  and  the  Con- 
tinent, and  thence  southerly  through  the  middle  of  the 
Straits  of  Fuca  to  the  ocean  : — also  the  navigation  of  the 
Columbia  River,  and  its  main  northern  branch,  was  left 
free  to  both  parties. 

1846.  We  left  General  Taylor  at  Corpus  Christ!,  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Nueces.  He  now  received  orders  from  Wash- 
Feb.  ington,  to  move  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  establish  a fortified 
camp  and  fort  on  the  bank  opposite  the  town  of  Mata- 
moras,  as  in  the  vicinity  of  that  place  Mexican  troops 
were  assembling  in  great  numbers,  with  the  intention,  it 


Benton’s  Thirty  Years’  View,  Vol.  ii.  Chaps.  166-7-8-9, 


MEXICO  THREATENS  WAR THORNTON'S  PARTY  SURPRISED  757 


was  said,  of  invading  Texas.  Leaving  the  main  portion 
of  his  stores  under  a guard  at  Point  Isabel,  he  marched  to 
the  Rio  Grande,  and,  within  cannon  shot  of  Matamoras, 
established  a camp  and  built  a fort.  These  movements 
called  forth  from  Mexico  strongprotests  and  threats  of 
war. 

When  the  dispute  between  the  two  Republics  began, 
Herrera  was  President  of  Mexico.  He  was  desirous  of 
arranging  the  difficulties  by  negotiation  ; hut  the  war 
spirit  prevailed,  and  at  a recent  election  the  Mexican 
people  chose  for  President,  Paredes,  an  uncompromising 
enemy  of  peace.  When  he  assumed  office  he  sent  a large 
force  under  General  Ampudia,  to  whom  he  gave  orders  to 
drive  the  Americans  beyond  the  Nueces.  That  officer 
soon  after  sent  a communication  to  General  Taylor,  in 
which  he  warned  him  of  his  danger  in  thus  provoking  the 
anger  of  “ the  magnanimous  Mexican  nation,”  and  de- 
manded that  he  should  “ break  up  his  camp  and  retire 
beyond  the  Nueces”  within  twenty-four  hours.  Taylor 
replied  that  he  should  maintain  his  position,  and  carry 
out  the  instructions  of  his  government,  which  alone  was 
responsible  for  his  presence  on  the  Rio  Grande.  He  con- 
tinued to  strengthen  his  fortification,  and  to  closely  watch 
the  movements  of  the  Mexicans.  Ampudia  was  at  a loss 
how  to  act  ; both  commanders  were  unwilling  to  light  the 
flame  of  war. 

Paredes,  dissatisfied  with  Ampudia,  sent  General  Arista 
to  supersede  him.  The  latter  immediately  ordered  de- 
tachments of  Mexican  soldiers  to  occupy  positions  between 
Point  Isabel  and  the  American  camp,  thus  cutting  off 
communication  with  their  stores. 

General  Tailor  had  sent  Captain  Thornton  with  a 
party  of  sixty  dragoons  to  reconnoitre  ; the  party  was 
surprised,  sixteen  of  their  number  killed,  the  remainder 
captured.  Thornton  alone  escaped.  Here  was  shed  the 
first  blood  in  the  Mexican  war. 


CHAP 

LI. 


1846. 


April 

24. 


758 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LI. 


1846. 


Mav 

3. 


May 

8. 


A few  days  later.  Captain  Walker,  the  celebrated 
Texan  ranger,  who  with  a select  company  was  engaged 
in  keeping  up  the  communication  with  Point  Isabel,  came 
into  camp  with  information  that  a large  force  of  Mexicans 
was  threatening  the  latter  place.  Leaving  Major  Brown 
with  three  hundred  men  to  defend  the  fort,  Taylor  hastened 
to  the  aid  of  Point  Isabel,  which  place,  after  a march  of 
twenty-one  miles,  he  reached  without  opposition. 

The  Mexicans  self- complacently  attributed  this  move- 
ment to  fear,  and  they  immediately  made  preparations  to 
attack  the  fort.  Taylor  had  concerted  with  Major  Brown 
that  if  the  latter  should  be  surrounded  or  hard  pressed, 
he  should,  at  certain  intervals,  fire  heavy  signal  guns. 

The  Mexicans  opened  with  a tremendous  cannonade 
from  a battery  at  Matamoras,  while  a large  force  took 
position  in  the  rear  of  the  fort,  and  began  to  throw  up  in- 
trenchments.  The  little  garrison  defended  themselves 
with  great  bravery,  and  not  until  Major  Brown  fell  mor- 
tally wounded,  did  the  next  in  command,  Captain  Haw- 
kins, begin  to  fire  the  signal  guns. 

The  cautious  Taylor  first  put  Point  Isabel  in  a state 
of  defence,  and  then  set  out  with  a provision  train  guarded 
by  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  men  to  re- 
lieve Fort  Brown — thus  afterward  named  in  honor  of  its 
commander.  The  little  army  was  truly  in  peril ; an 
overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy — three  to  its  one — had 
taken  a strong  position  to  intercept  its  march.  The 
booming  of  signal  guns  still  continued,  and  Taylor  ar- 
dently pressed  on  with  the  determination  to  cut  his  way 
through.  Presently  he  came  in  sight  of  the  enemy,  posted 
in  front  of  a chaparral — in  which  were  their  reserves — 
near  a small  stream,  the  Palo  Alto.  The  train  was  im- 
mediately closed  up,  and  the  soldiers  refreshed  themselves 
from  the  stream,  and  filled  their  canteens.  As  soon  as 
the  exact  position  of  the  Mexicans  was  ascertained,  the 
American  line  was  formed,  Major  Ringgold's  battery  was 


BATTLE  OF  PALO  ALTO. 


759 


placed  on  the  right,  and  Duncan's  on  the  left,  while  the  2HAP. 

eighteen-pounders  were  in  the  centre  on  the  main  road.  

The  Mexicans  commenced  the  action  with  their  artillery,  1840 
but  at  too  great  distance  to  reach  the  American  line.  The 
latter  moved  slowly  and  silently  up  till  within  suitable 
range,  then  the  artillery  opened,  and  displayed  great  skill 
in  the  rapidity  as  well  as  in  the  accuracy  with  which  each 
gun  was  handled.  The  eighteen-pounders  riddled  the 
Mexican  centre  through  and  through,  while  Duncan 
scarcely  noticed  their  artillery,  but  poured  an  incessant 
stream  of  balls  upon  their  infantry.  Presently  the  long 
grass  in  front  was  set  on  fire,  by  the  wadding  from  the 
guns,  and  the  smoke  obscured  the  position  of  the  Mexicans. 

The  American  batteries  groped  their  way  for  three-fourths 
of  an  hour  through  the  burning  grass,  and  when  the 
smoke  cleared  away,  they  found  themselves  within  range 
of  the  enemy  ; in  another  moment  they  opened  their  guns 
with  renewed  vigor.  At  this  crisis  night  came  on  ; the 
contest  had  continued  for  five  hours,  and  was  a conflict  of 
artillery  alone.  The  only  instance  when  an  effort  was 
made  to  change  the  form  of  the  battle,  was  when  the 
Mexican  cavalry  endeavored  to  turn  the  American  flank; 
but  the  infantry,  with  bayonets  fixed  stood  firm  and 
awaited  the  shock  ; as  the  cavalry  hesitated  to  make  the 
onset,  a discharge  from  the  American  artillery  decided 
them  to  wheel  and  rapidly  leave  the  field. 

Such  was  the  first  battle  in  the  Mexican  war ; a pre- 
sage of  those  which  were  to  follow.  The  enemy  lost  four 
hundred  men,  while  the  Americans  had  only  nine  killed 
and  forty-four  wounded  ; but  among  the  former  was  Major 
Ringgold,  universally  lamented,  both  as  an  efficient 
officer  and  a Christian  gentleman.  As  his  officers  offered 
him  assistance,  he  said  : “ Leave  me  alone,  you  are  wanted 
forward."  To  him  was  due  much  of  the  credit  for  that 
perfection  of  drill  and  rapidity  of  movement  which  the 
Ameiican  Flying  Artillery  exhibited  on  battle-fields 


760 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  during  this  war.  The  Mexicans  manifested  here  no  want 

of  courage  ; they  stood  for  four  or  five  hours  under  these 

1846.  murderous  discharges  of  grape. 

The  Americans  encamped  on  the  spot,  and  at  three 
o'clock  the  next  morning  were  on  their  march  toward 
F ort  Brown.  Meantime  the  Mexicans,  leaving  their  dead 
unburied,  had  disappeared  ; but  on  the  afternoon  of  that 
day  they  were  discovered  posted  in  a strong  position  be- 
yond a ravine,  known  as  the  Dry  River  of  Palms  or  Resaca 
de  la  Palma.  They  had  been  reinforced  during  the  night, 
and  now  numbered  seven  thousand  men.  Their  right 
and  left  were  protected  by  dense  brush  and  chaparral, 
while  their  artillery,  placed  behind  a breastwork  and 
beyond  the  ravine,  swept  the  road  for  some  distance. 

May  General  Taylor  placed  his  artillery  on  the  road  in  the 
centre,  and  ordered  divisions  on  the  right  and  left  to 
grope  their  way  through  the  chaparral  and  ferret  out  with 
the  bayonet  the  Mexican  sharpshooters,  who  were  swarm- 
ing in  the  brush  which  protected  them. 

No  order  could  be  observed  ; the  officers  became 
separated  from  the  men  ; each  soldier  acted  for  himself, 
as  he  broke  his  way  through  the  chaparral  and  probed  for 
the  Mexicans.  The  sharp  twang  of  the  rifle,  the  dull 
sound  of  the  musket,  the  deep  mutterings  of  the  cannon, 
the  shrill  cries  of  the  Mexicans,  so  in  contrast  with  the 
vigorous  shouts  of  the  Americans,  produced  a tremendous 
uproar.  The  right  and  left  had  gradually  forced  their 
way  through  the  chaparral  almost  to  the  ravine,  but  the 
Mexican  battery,  handled  with  great  coolness  and  execu- 
tion, still  swept  the  road  at  every  discharge,  and  held  the 
centre  in  check.  That  battery,  the  key  of  the  Mexican 
position,  must  be  taken.  General  Taylor  turned  tc 
Captain  May,  of  the  dragoons,  and  pointing  to  the  battery, 
said  : “ You  must  take  it."  The  captain  wheeled  his 
horse  and  shouted  to  his  troops,  “ Men,  we  must  take  tkaf 


BATTLE  OF  RESACA  DE  LA  PALMA. 


761 


battery  !”  Just  then  Lieutenant  Ridgely  suggested  to  c^p 

May  to  wait  until  he  would  draw  the  Mexican  fire.  The  

moment  a portion  of  their  guns  were  fired,  the  bugle  was  1846. 
heard  high  above  the  din,  to  sound  a charge.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  combatants  was  arrested,  all  eyes  were  turned 
toward  the  road,  along  which  dashed  the  horsemen,  led 
by  their  gallant  leader.  A cloud  of  dust  soon  hid  them 
from  view  ; a discharge  of  the  Mexican  guns  swept  away 
one-third  of  their  number,  hut  in  a moment  more,  the 
clashing  sabres  and  the  trampling  of  men  under  the  horses’ 
feet,  proclaimed  that  the  battery  was  taken.  The  Mexi- 
can cannoneers  were  paralyzed  at  the  sudden  appearance 
of  the  approaching  foe,  and  before  they  could  recover,  the 
dragoons  were  upon  them.  May,  with  his  own  hands, 
captured  General  La  Yega,  the  commander,  who  was  in 
the  act  of  applying  a match  to  a gun.  The  dragoons 
then  charged  directly  through  the  Mexican  centre. 

A shout  of  triumph  arose  from  the  American  lines,  the 
infantry  pressed  on  and  took  possession  of  the  guns,  from 
which  the  dragoons  had  driven  the  men.  The  entire 
Mexican  force,  panic-stricken  at  the  sudden  onset,  broke  and 
fled  in  confusion  to  the  nearest  point  of  the  Rio  Grande  ; 
in  their  haste  to  pass  over  which,  numbers  of  them  were 
drowned. 

It  was  a complete  victory.  General  Arista  fled,  and 
without  a companion,  leaving  his  private  papers,  as  well 
as  his  public  correspondence.  All  the  Mexican  artillery, 
two  thousand  stand  of  arms,  and  six  hundred  mules,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  The  latter  lost  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two,  and  the  Mexicans  twelve  hun- 
dred. 

We  may  well  imagine  the  emotions  with  which  the 
little  garrison,  exhausted  by  the  exertions  of  six  days’  in- 
cessant bombardment,  listened  to  the  sound  of  the  battle, 
as  it  drew  nearer  and  nearer ; first  was  heard  the  cannon, 
then  the  musketry  ; then  the  smoke  could  be  seen  floating 


762 


HISTORY  OE  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


°llP  a^ove  the  distant  trees  ; now  Mexicans  here  and  there 

appeared  in  full  flight ; presently  the  victorious  American 

1846.  cavalry  came  in  sight,  and  the  men  mounted  the  ramparts 
and  shouted  a welcome. 

General  Taylor  advanced  to  Fort  Brown,  then  in  a 
few  days  crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  and  took  possession  of 
Matamoras.  The  Mexicans  had  withdrawn  the  previous 
18.  evening  and  were  in  full  march  toward  Monterey.  The 
American  commander  took  pains  not  to  change  or  inter- 
fere with  the  municipal  laws  of  the  town  ; the  people 
enjoyed  their  civil  and  religious  privileges.  They  were 
paid  good  prices  for  provisions,  which  they  furnished  in 
abundance  ; yet  there  was  evidently  in  their  hearts  a 
deep-toned  feeling  of  hatred  toward  the  invaders. 

Meanwhile  intelligence  of  the  capture  of  Captain 
Thornton’s  reconnoitring  party  had  reached  the  United 
States,  and  the  rumor  that  Mexican  soldiers,  in  over- 
powering numbers,  were  between  the  Nueces  and  the  Rio 
Grande. 

The  President  immediately  sent  a special  message  to 
Congress,  in  which  he  announced  that  “ war  existed  by 
May  the  act  of  Mexico  ; ” but  surely  it  was  an  “ act  ” of  self- 
n*  defence  on  the  part  of  the  Mexicans,  and  made  so  by  the 
advance  of  an  American  army  upon  disputed  soil,  that  had 
been  in  their  possession  and  that  of  their  fathers’  fathers. 

The  President  called  upon  Congress  to  recognize  the 
war,  to  appropriate  the  necessary  funds  to  carry  it  on,  and 
to  authorize  him  to  call  u$on  the  country  for  volunteers. 
Congress,  anxious  to  rescue  the  army  from  danger,  ap- 
propriated ten  millions  of  dollars,  and  empowered  the 
President  to  accept  the  services  of  fifty  thousand  volun- 
teers ; one-half  of  whom  to  be  mustered  into  the  army, 
and  the  other  half  kept  as  a reserve.  War  was  not  for- 
mally declared,  yet  the  war  spirit  aroused  was  unprece- 
dented. Throughout  the  land  publ:c  meetings  were  held 


PLAN  OF  OPERATIONS — MEXICO  DECLARES  WAR. 


763 


and  in  a few  weeks  two  hundred  thousand  volunteers  had 
offered  their  services  to  rescue  the  gallant  little  army 
from  its  perils,  and,  if  necessary,  to  prosecute  the  war. 
Notwithstanding  these  warlike  indications,  great  diversity 
of  opinion  prevailed  among  the  people,  both  as  to  the 
justness  of  the  war,  or  the  expediency  of  appealing  to 
that  terrible  arbiter,  when  all  the  results  demanded  might 
be  obtained  by  negotiation. 

On  the  suggestions  of  Major-General  Scott,  a plan  of 
operations,  remarkably  comprehensive  in  its  outlines,  was 
resolved  upon  by  the  government.  A powerful  fleet  was 
to  sail  round  Cape  Horn,  and  to  attack  the  Mexican  ports 
on  the  Pacific  coast  in  concert  with  a force,  styled  the 
“Army  of  the  West,”  which  was  to  assemble  at  Fort 
Leavenworth,  on  the  Missouri,  then  to  cross  the  great 
plains  and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  in  its  progress  re- 
duce the  northern  provinces  of  Mexico.  Another  force, 
“ The  Army  of  the  Centre,”  was  to  penetrate  to  the  heart 
of  the  Republic  by  way  of  Texas,  and  if  deemed  best,  co- 
operate with  the  force  under  Taylor,  known,  as  we  have 
said,  as  the  “Army  of  Occupation.”  The  latter  part  of 
the  plan  was  afterward  modified,  and  the  country  was 
penetrated  by  way  of  Vera  Cruz. 

The  apprehensions  of  the  people  for  the  safety  of  their 
little  army,  gave  way  to  a feeling  of  exultation,  when  the 
news  reached  them  that  it  had  met  and  repelled  its 
numerous  assailants.  The  war  spirit  was  not  diminished 
but  rather  increased  by  this  success.  Congress  manifested 
its  gratification  by  conferring  upon  Taylor  the  commission 
of  Major-General  by  brevet. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Mexican  people  and  govern- 
ment were  aroused,  and  on  the  intelligence  of  these  dis- 
asters, war  was  formally  declared  against  the  United 
States,  and  the  government  commenced  to  prepare  for  the 
contest. 


CHAP 

LL 


1846. 


30. 


May 

28. 


764 


HIST0RV  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LI. 


1846. 


Aug. 

20. 


Sept. 

9. 


General  John  E.  Wool,  a native  of  New  York,  who 
had  seen  service  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  distinguished 
himself  at  Queenstown  Heights,  was  commissioned  tc 
drill  the  volunteers.  By  the  most  untiring  diligence  he 
had,  in  the  short  space  of  six  weeks,  inspected  and  taken 
into  the  service  twelve  thousand  men,  nine  thousand  of 
whom  were  hurried  off  to  reinforce  General  Taylor,  while 
the  remainder  marched  under  his  own  command  to  San 
Antonio,  in  Texas,  there  to  he  in  readiness  to  act  accord- 
ing to  circumstances. 

General  Taylor  remained  three  months  at  Matamoras, 
his  operations  restricted  for  want  of  men,  but  as  soon  as 
reinforcements  reached  him,  he  prepared  to  advance  into 
the  country,  in  accordance  with  orders  received  from 
Washington.  He  sent  in  advance  General  William  J. 
Worth,  with  the  first  division  toward  Monterey,  the 
capital  city  of  New  Leon.  Worth  took  his  first  lessons 
in  warfare  in  1812.  From  love  of  military  life,  when  a 
mere  youth  he  enlisted  as  a common  soldier,  but  his  ready 
talents  attracted  the  attention  of  Colonel,  now  General 
Scott,  and  from  that  day  his  promotion  began.  A fort- 
night later,  leaving  General  Twiggs  in  command  at  Mata- 
moras, Taylor  himself  moved  with  the  main  division, — 
more  than  six  thousand  men, — and  the  entire  army  en- 
camped within  three  miles  of  the  doomed  city. 

Monterey  was  an  old  city  built  by  the  Spaniards  nearly 
three  centuries  ago.  In  a fertile  valley,  hedged  in  by 
high  mountains,  it  could  be  approached  only  in  two  direc- 
tions ; from  the  north-east  toward  Matamoras,  and  from 
the  west  by  a road,  "which  passed  through  a rocky  gorge, 
toward  Saltillo.  The  city,  nearly  two  miles  in  length  by 
one  in  breadth,  had  three  large  plazas  or  squares  ; the 
houses,  built  in  the  old  Spanish  style,  were  one  story 
high,  with  strong  walls  of  masonry  rising  thiee  or  forn 


MONTEREY  AND  ITS  FORTIFICATIONS. 


765 


feet  above  their  flat  roofs.  The  city  itself  was  fortified  hy 
massive  walls,  and  on  its  ramparts  were  forty-two  pieces 
of  heavy  artillery,  while  from  the  mountain  tops,  north  of 
the  town,  the  Americans  could  see  that  the  flat  roofs  of 
the  stone  houses  were  converted  into  places  of  defence, 
and  bristled  with  musketry,  and  that  the  streets  were 
rendered  impassable  by  numerous  barricades.  On  the  one 
side,  on  a hill,  stood  the  Bishop's  Palace,  a massive  stone 
building,  strongly  fortified,  on  the  other  were  redoubts 
well  manned,  in  the  rear  was  the  river  San  Juan,  south 
of  which  towered  abrupt  mountains.  Such  was  the  ap- 
pearance and  strength  of  Monterey,  garrisoned  as  it  was 
by  ten  thousand  troops,  nearly  all  regulars,  under  the 
command  of  General  Ampudia.  It  was  now  to  be  assailed 
by  an  army  of  less  than  seven  thousand  men. 

Ten  days  elapsed  before  the  vicinity  of  the  town 
could  be  thoroughly  reconnoitred.  In  the  afternoon, 
General  Worth  was  ordered,  with  six  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  to  find  his  way  around  the  hill  occupied  by  the 
Bishop’s  Palace,  gain  the  Saltillo  road,  and  carry  the 
works  in  that  direction,  while  a diversion  would  be  made 
against  the  centre  and  left  of  the  town,  by  batteries 
erected  during  the  night.  The  impetuous  Worth,  by  great 
exertions,  accomplished  his  purpose,  by  opening  a new  road 
over  the  mountains.  In  one  instance  he  came  to  a small 
stream  in  a deep  gully,  the  bridge  over  which  had  been 
broken  down.  A neighboring  field  furnished  the  material ; 
his  men  soon  filled  the  chasm,  and  passed  over  on  a corn- 
stalk-bridge. 

The  next  morning  the  batteries  erected  the  night  be- 
fore opened  upon  the  enemy,  who  replied  with  a hearty 
good  will.  At  length,  after  hard  fighting,  one  of  the  Mexi- 
can works  of  great  strength,  situated  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  town,  was  captured.  The  brigade  under  General 
Quitman,  of  the  Mississippi  Volunteers,  :e  carried  the  work 


CHAP. 

LL 


1846. 


Sept, 

19. 


Sept. 

20 


766 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP 

LI. 


1846. 


Sept. 

28. 


in  handsome  style,  as  well  as  the  strong  building  in  ite 
rear.”  General  Butler  had  also  entered  the  town  on  the 
right  ; both  of  these  positions  were  maintained. 

While  these  operations  were  in  progress,  General 
Worth  succeeded  in  gaining  the  Saltillo  road,  and  thus 
cut  off  the  enemy's  communication  with  the  west.  He 
carried,  in  succession,  the  heights  south  of  the  river  and 
road,  and  immediately  turned  the  guns  upon  the  Bishop's 
Palace. 

During  the  night,  the  Mexicans  evacuated  their  works 
in  the  lower  town  ; but  the  next  day  they  kept  up  a vig- 
orous fire  from  the  Citadel.  The  following  morning  at 
dawn  of  day,  in  the  midst  of  a fog  and  drizzling  rain, 
Worth  stormed  the  crest  overlooking  the  Bishop's  Palace, 
and  at  noon,  the  Palace  itself  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Americans.  Yet  the  city,  with  its  fortified  houses,  was 
far  from  being  taken.  “ Our  troops  advanced  from  house 
to  house,  and  from  square  to  square,  until  they  reached  a 
street  but  one  square  in  the  rear  of  the  principal  plaza, 
in  and  near  which  the  enemy's  force  was  mostly  concen- 
trated.''1 The  Americans  obtained  the  plaza,  then  forced 
the  houses  on  either  side,  and,  by  means  of  crowbars,  tore 
down  the  walls,  ascended  to  the  roofs,  then  drew  up  one 
or  two  field- pieces,  and  drove  the  enemy  from  point  to  point 
till  the  city  capitulated. 

The  carnage  was  terrible.  The  shouts  of  the  com- 
batants, mingled  with  the  wail  of  suffering  women  and 
children,  presented  a scene  so  heart-rending  that  even  the 
demon  of  war  might  be  supposed  to  turn  from  it  in  horror. 

The  Mexicans  had  effectually  barricaded  their  streets, 
but  these  were  almost  undisturbed,  while  the  invaders 
burrowed  from  house  to  house.  The  conllict  continued 
for  almost  four  days,  in  which  the  Mexicans  fought 
desperately  from  behind  their  barricades  on  the  house- 


* Gen.  Taylor’s  Report. 


CESSATION  OF  HOSTILITIES. 


767 


tops,  where  they  did  not  hesitate  to  meet  the  invaders  of 
their  hearthstones  hand  to  hand. 

The  following  morning  Ampudia  surrendered  the  town 
and  garrison.  The  Mexican  soldiers  were  permitted  to 
march  out  with  the  honors  of  war. 

General  Taylor  was  assured  that  those  in  authority 
at  the  city  of  Mexico  were  desirous  of  peace.  In  conse- 
quence of  these  representations,  and  also  of  his  want  of 
provisions,  he  agree!  to  a cessation  of  hostilities  for  eight 
weeks,  if  his  government  should  sanction  the  measure. 

He  now  left  General  Worth  in  command  of  the  city, 
and  retired  with  the  main  force  of  the  army  to  Walnut 
Springs,  about  three  miles  distant,  and  there  encamped. 


CHAP 

LI. 


1846. 

Sept. 

24. 


CHAP. 

LII. 


1846. 


Dec. 


CHAPTEK  LII. 

POLK’S  ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

The  President  hopes  for  Peace. — Santa  Anna. — Hostilities  to  be  renewed. — 
Troops  withdrawn  from  General  Taylor. — Letter  from  General  Scott. — 
Volunteers  arrive  at  Monterey. — Despatches  intercepted. — Santa 
Anna’s  Plans  and  Preparations. — Taylor  advances  to  Agua  Nueva. — 
Battle  of  Buena  Vista. — Its  Consequences. 


Those  in  power  at  Washington  had  hoped,  indeed,  it  was 
confidently  predicted,  that  the  war  would  he  ended  within 
“ninety”  or  “ one  hundred  and  twenty  days ” from  its 
commencement,  and  a peace  concluded,  that  “ should  give 
indemnity  for  the  past  and  security  for  the  future.”  These 
desirable  ends  were  to  be  attained  by  treaty,  through  the 
means  of  that  incomparable  patriot,  Santa  Anna,  then 
an  exile  in  Havana,  who  promised,  for  a certain  consider 
tion,  if  restored  to  authority  in  Mexico,  to  exert  his  influ- 
ence in  favor  of  peace.  A secret  messenger  from  Wash- 
ington had  made  to  the  “ illustrious  exile  ” overtures  to 
this  effect,  about  the  time  that  General  Taylor  was  or- 
dered to  the  Rio  Grande  ; the  special  act  which  led  to  hos- 
tilities.1 

In  his  next  annual  message  the  President  gives  some 
information  on  this  subject.  “ Santa  Anna,”  said  that  docu- 
ment, “ had  expressed  his  regret  that  he  had  subverted 
the  Federal  Constitution  of  his  country,”  and  “that  he 


1 Benton’s  “ Thirty  Years’  View,”  VoL  ii.  pp.  561  and  681-2. 


SANTA  ANNA  AND  HIS  PROFESSIONS. 


769 


was  now  in  favor  of  its  restoration.”  He  was  also  opposed 
to  a monarchy,  or  te  European  interference  in  the  affairs 
of  his  country.”  The  President  cherished  the  hope  that 
the  exiled  chief  would  “ see  the  ruinous  consequences  to 
Mexico  of  a war  with  the  United  States,  and  that  it  would 
be  his  interest  to  favor  peace  ; ” and  further  the  Message 
said,  that  Paredes,  then  President  of  Mexico,  was  “ a sol- 
dier by  profession,  and  a monarchist  in  principle  ; ” the 
sworn  enemy  of  the  United  States,  and  urgent  to  prosecute 
the  war.  Santa  Anna,  on  the  contrary,  was  in  favor  of 
peace,  and  only  wanted  a few  millions  of  dollars  to  bring 
about  that  object  so  dear  to  his  patriotism  ; hence  the 
hopes  that  the  war  would  be  brought  to  a close  in  three  or 
four  months.  It  was  with  this  expectation  that  the  Presi- 
dent, in  a special  message,  asked  of  Congress  an  appropria- 
tion of  two  millions  of  dollars  “ in  order  to  restore  peace, 
and  to  advance  a portion  of  the  consideration  money,  for 
any  cession  of  territory  ” which  Mexico  might  make.  It 
was  also  in  accordance  with  this  arrangement,  that,  on  the 
very  day  Congress,  at  his  suggestion,  recognized  the  u ex- 
istence of  the  war,”  he  issued  an  order  to  Commodore 
Connor,  who  was  in  command  of  the  fleet  in  the  Gulf,  to 
permit  Santa  Anna  and  his  suite  to  return  to  Mexico. 
The  latter  availed  himself  of  this  passport  to  land  at 
Vera  Cruz. 

President  Polk  had  been  duped.  Santa  Anna  never 
intended  to  fulfil  his  promise,  except  so  far  as  to  forward 
his  own  selfish  ends.  Instead  of  endeavoring  to  conciliate 
the  hostile  countries  and  obtain  peace,  he  devoted  all 
his  energies  to  arouse  the  war  spirit  of  his  countrymen  ; 
called  upon  them  to  rally  under  his  banner  and  save  their 
nationality ; issued  flaming  manifestos  expressing  the 
most  intense  hatred  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
and  his  righteous  indignation  at  the  wrongs  imposed  on 
his  country  by  the  “ perfidious  Yankees.” 


CHAP. 

LII. 


1846. 


Aug. 

4. 


May 

13. 


Aug 

8. 


770 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP 

LII. 


1846. 


Dec. 


His  extravagant  professions  of  patriotism  were  not 
without  effect ; his  countrymen  deposed  Paredes,  and 
elected  him  President.  Though  they  had  been  unfortu- 
nate in  the  field,  their  spirits  revived,  and  in  a few  months 
he  had  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men  concentrated  at 
San  Luis  Potosi. 


Sept. 


Nov. 

15. 


Dec. 

29. 


Meanwhile  General  Wool  had  marched  from  San 
Antonio.  His  indefatigable  labors  had  converted  the  vol- 
unteers under  his  care  into  well-drilled  soldiers.  Part  of 
their  way  was  through  a region  but  thinly  inhabited  and 
without  roads,  and  across  a desert  in  which  they  suffered 
much  for  water.  A laborious  march  of  six  weeks  brought 
him  to  Monclova,  seventy  miles  from  Monterey — here  he 
learned  of  the  capture  of  the  latter  place.  It  was  now 
arranged  that  he  should  take  position  in  a fertile  dis- 
trict in  the  province  of  Durango,  that  would  enable  him 
to  obtain  supplies  for  his  own  men,  and  the  army  under 
General  Taylor.  The  inhabitants  cheerfully  furnished 
provisions,  for  which  they  were  paid  promptly,  and  in 
truth  received  more  favor  than  they  had  recently  ex- 
perienced at  the  hands  of  their  own  rulers,  as  General 
Wool  kept  his  men  under  strict  discipline  and  scrupulously 
protected  the  persons  and  property  of  the  Mexicans. 

The  cessation  of  hostilities,  by  orders  from  Washing- 
ton, ceased  on  the  13th  of  November.  Two  days  later 
General  Worth  took  possession  of  Saltillo,  the  capital  of 
Coahuila,  and  General  Taylor  himself,  leaving  a garrison 
in  Monterey  under  General  Butler,  marched  toward  the 
coast  in  order  to  attack  Tampico,  but  as  that  place  had 
already  surrendered  to  Commodore  Connor,  he  took  pos- 
session of  Victoria,  the  capital  of  Tamaulipas. 

The  United  States  government  now  prepared  to  in- 
vade Mexico  by  way  of  Vera  Cruz.  Just  as  Genera] 
Taylor  was  ready  to  commence  active  operations,  Gen- 
eral Scott  was  about  to  sail  for  that  place  with  the 


TROOPS  WITHDRAWN  FROM  TAYLOR'S  ARMY. 


771 


intention  of  capturing  it,  and  then,  if  peace  could  not  he 
obtained,  to  march  upon  the  city  of  Mexico  itself. 

To  carry  out  the  plan  of  operations,  it  was  necessary 
to  increase  the  force  under  General  Scott's  immediate 
control.  Troops  in  sufficient  numbers  could  not  be  drawn 
from  the  United  States,  and  a portion  of  Taylor's  army 
was  ordered  to  join  him  before  Yera  Cruz.  He  thus  in  a 
private  letter  expresses  his  generous  sympathies  wTith  the 
latter  : “ My  dear  General,"  says  he,  “ I shall  be  obliged 
to  take  from  you  most  of  the  gallant  officers  and  men 
whom  you  have  so  long  and  so  nobly  commanded.  I am 
afraid  that  I shall,  by  imperious  necessity — the  approach 
of  the  yellow  fever  on  the  Gulf  coast — reduce  you,  for  a 
time,  to  remain  on  the  defensive.  This  will  be  infinitely 
painful  to  you,  and,  for  that  reason,  distressing  to  me. 
But  I rely  upon  your  patriotism  to  submit  to  the  tempo- 
rary sacrifice  with  cheerfulness.  No  man  can  better  afford 
to  do  so.  Recent  victories  place  you  on  that  high  emi- 
nence." 

General  Taylor,  though  deeply  disappointed,  at  once 
complied  with  the  orders  of  the  government,  and  detached 
Generals  Worth  and  Quitman  with  their  divisions  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  volunteers  brought  by  General  Wool  : 
in  truth,  the  flower  of  his  army.  These  troops  were  speedily 
on  their  march  from  Saltillo  toward  the  Gulf  coast.  Thus 
Taylor  was  left  with  a very  small  force.  During  the  month 
of  January,  and  a part  of  February,  reinforcements  of 
volunteers  arrived  from  the  United  States,  increasing  his 
army  to  about  six  thousand;  but  after  garrisoning  Monte- 
rey and  Saltillo,  he  had  only  four  thousand  seven  hundred 
effective  men,  of  whom  only  six  hundred  were  regulars. 

General  Scott  sent  Lieutenant  Richey  and  a guard 
of  men  with  a despatch  to  General  Taylor.  The  Lieu- 
tenant imprudently  left  his  men,  went  near  a Mexican 
village,  was  lassoed,  dragged  from  his  horse  and  murdered, 


CHAP. 

LII. 

1846. 


1847 


772 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  and  bis  despatches  sent  to  Santa  Anna.  From  these  the 

Mexican  chief  learned  the  plan  for  invading  his  country, 

1847.  He  promptly  decided  upon  his  course  of  action — a ju- 
dicious one.  Trusting  that  the  strength  of  Vera  Cruz, 
and  of  the  Castle  San  Juan  d’Ulloa,  would  long  resist  the 
enemy,  and  even  if  they  both  should  be  captured,  that  the 
fortified  places  along  the  road  would  still  retard  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Americans  upon  the  capital,  he  deter- 
mined to  direct  all  his  force  against  Taylor,  who  was  now 
weakened  by  the  loss  of  the  greater  part  of  his  army. 

Santa  Anna’s  difficulties  were  almost  insurmountable. 
The  city  of  Mexico  was  in  confusion,  torn  by  factions.  He 
took  most  extraordinary  and  illegal  measures  to  enlist 
men  and  obtain  the  means  for  their  support  ; raised  money 
by  forced  loans  ; made  the  church  property  contribute  its 
share  of  the  public  expense  ; the  Priests  protested  and 
appealed  to  the  superstitions  of  the  people  ; he  immediately 
seized  one  of  their  number,  the  most  factious,  and  threw 
him  into  prison,  and  the  rest  were  intimidated.  Thus, 
for  nearly  four  months,  he  exercised  an  arbitrary,  energetic, 
and  iron  rule.  With  a well-organized  army  of  twenty- 
jan  three  thousand  men,  and  twenty  pieces  of  artillery,  he  com- 
26.  menced  his  march  for  San  Luis  Potosi  in  the  direction  of 
Saltillo,  and  within  sixty  miles  south  of  that  place  he 
halted  and  prepared  for  battle. 

Rumors  reached  General  Wool  that  Santa  Anna  was 
approaching  Saltillo.  Major  Borland  was  sent  with  thirty 
dragoons  to  reconnoitre  ; he  was  joined  on  his  way  by 
Major  Gaines  and  Captain  Cassius  M.  Clay,  with  another 
company  of  thirty-five  men.  No  enemy  appeared,  and 
they  pushed  on  during  the  day,  and  carelessly  encamped 
for  the  night,  but,  in  the  morning,  found  themselves 
surrounded  by  one  thousand  horsemen  under  the  Mexican 
General  Minon.  They  were  taken  prisoners,  and  Santa 
Anna  sent  them,  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  campaign,  to  be 
paraded  through  the  streets  of  the  city  of  Mexico. 


TAYLOR  AT  SALTILLO — M’CULLOCK’S  ADVENTURE. 


773 


General  Taylor  now  advanced  from  Monterey,  and  chap 

established  his  head-quarters  at  Saltillo.  Leaving  there  

his  stores,  he  made  a rapid  march  to  Agua  Nueva,  eighteen  1847 
miles  in  advance,  on  the  road  to  San  Luis  Potosi,  thus  to 
secure  the  southern  extremity  of  the  defile  through  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  rather  than  the  northern  one  at  Monterey.  Feb 
At  the  former  point  the  Mexicans  must  fight  or  starve,  be- 
cause  of  the  barrenness  of  the  country  in  their  rear  ; while, 
had  he  remained  at  Monterey,  Santa  Anna  could  have  had 
his  head-quarters  at  Saltillo,  and  drawn  his  supplies  from 
that  comparatively  fertile  district. 

Scouts  reported  that  General  Minon  with  a large  body 
of  cavalry  was  to  the  left  of  Agua  Nueva,  and  that  the 
American  position  could  be  turned.  Companies  of  dra- 
goons from  time  to  time  were  sent  in  different  directions 
to  reconnoitre.  They  at  length  learned  from  a “ Mexican, 
dressed  as  a peon/'  that  Santa  Anna  had  arrived  in  the 
neighborhood  with  twenty  thousand  men,  and  that  he  in- 
tended to  attack  the  Americans  the  next  morning. 

The  clouds  of  dust  toward  the  east,  and  the  signal 
fires  that  blazed  upon  the  tops  of  the  distant  hills,  seemed 
to  confirm  the  report.  But  that  daring  Texan  ranger, 

Major  McCulloch,  was  not  satisfied  ; and,  accompanied  by 
some  dozen  volunteers,  he  determined  to  ascertain  the 
truth  of  the  u peon’s”  story.  They  pushed  on  across  a 
desert  of  thirty-six  miles  to  Encarnacion,  where  they  ar- 
rived at  midnight,  and  found  the  enemy  in  force.  Send- 
ing back  all  his  men,  save  one,  McCulloch  entered  their 
lines,  and,  undetected,  went  from  point  to  point,  obtained 
more  correct  information  of  their  numbers,  then  passed 
out,  and  escaped  to  Agua  Nueva. 

On  the  reception  of  this  intelligence,  Taylor,  leaving 
a small  guard  as  an  outpost,  retired  up  the  valley  in 
expectation  that  Santa  Anna  in  hot  haste  would  pursue 
him,  while  he  himself  should  await  his  approach  at  a 
point,  which,  in  passing,  he  had  already  noticed.  The  con- 
jecture was  correct. 


774 


HISTORY  OR  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CliiP*  Santa  Anna  knew  well  the  position  of  the  Americans 

He  thought  they  would  not  retreat,  and  he  resolved  to 

184T.  surprise  them.  But  between  him  and  Agua  Neuva  there 
intervened  fifty  miles,  the  last  thirty-six  of  which  were 
across  a desert.  His  soldiers  were  each  supplied  with 
water  and  provisions  ; in  the  morning  the  march  com- 
menced, and  at  noon  they  entered  the  desert  : in  the 
night  they  halted  for  a while  to  refresh,  and  at  dawn  they 
were  to  attack  the  unsuspecting  foe.  The  march  was 
rapid  and  secret  ; the  silence  of  the  desert  was  not  dis- 
turbed— not  a signal  was  used,  not  a drum  beat.  After 
so  much  toil  he  was  sadly  disappointed  ; his  enemy  had 
disappeared.  He  firmly  believed  the  Americans  were  in 
full  flight,  in  order  to  avoid  a battle.  Some  days  before 
he  had  sent  General  Minon  with  his  cavalry  across  the 
mountains,  to  their  rear,  and  he  now  hoped  that  Minon 
would  be  able  to  hold  the  fugitives  in  check  until  he 
himself  could  come  up  with  his  full  force.  He  halted  only 
to  refresh  his  wearied  soldiers,  and  then  pursued  with  all 
his  vigor. 

The  ground  chosen  by  General  Taylor  on  which  to 
make  a stand,  was  the  pass — since  so  famous — known 
among  the  Mexicans  as  Las  Angosturas,  or  the  Narrows. 
It  was  at  the  north  end  of  a valley,  about  twelve  miles 
long,  and  formed  by  mountains  on  either  side.  Here  an 
ascent  rises  to  a plateau,  a little  more  than  a mile  wide, 
on  each  side  of  which  rugged  mountains,  inaccessible  to 
artillery  or  cavalry,  rise  from  two  to  three  thousand  feet. 
Numerous  ravines  or  deep  gullies,  formed  by  the  torrents 
rushing  from  the  mountains  during  the  rainy  season, 
rendered  the  surface  in  front  and  on  the  sides  very  un- 
even. Neither  flank  could  be  turned  except  by  light  troops 
clambering  up  the  mountains.  The  plateau  was  some- 
what rough,  with  here  and  there  open  and  smooth  places, 
as  well  as  clumps  of  thorny  chaparral.  The  road  through 


CIRCUMSTANCES  0E  THE  AMERICANS.  775 

the  defile  passes  much  nearer  to  the  west  than  to  the  chap. 

east  side  of  the  Narrows.  On  this  plateau,  one  mile  

south  of  the  hacienda  or  plantation  known  as  Buena  Vista , 1847 
the  American  army  awaited  the  approach  of  the  Mexicans. 

Early  the  following  morning  clouds  of  dust,  extending 
far  down  the  valley  to  the  south,  made  known  that  the 
Mexican  army  was  near  and  in  motion.  Soon  after,  its 
cavalry  came  in  sight  and  halted  for  the  infantry  and 
artillery  to  come  up. 

The  long  roll  of  the  drum  called  the  Americans  to 
arms  ; they  obeyed  the  call  with  hearty  cheers.  It  was 
the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Washington,  and  on  the  Feb. 
impulse  his  name  was  adopted  as  their  watchword.  They  22‘ 
were  placed  under  peculiar  circumstances.  A few  months 
before,  they  were  quietly  engaged  in  the  avocations  of 
civil  life  ; enthusiasm  had  induced  them  to  volunteer,  and 
now  they  were  on  foreign  soil,  far  from  their  homes. 

With  the  exception  of  a few  hundreds,  they  were  all  for 
the  first  time  going  into  battle,  with  the  prospect  that  to 
them  defeat  would  be  certain  ruin  ; they  were  about  to 
meet  an  army,  in  its  numbers  nearly  five  to  one  of  their 
own.  In  the  unequal  contest,  their  only  hope  was  in 
their  own  bravery,  and  in  the  skill  of  their  commander. 

The  cautious  Taylor  had  gone  to  Saltillo,  six  miles 
distant,  to  superintend  in  person  the  defences  designed  to 
secure  the  stores  from  capture.  General  Wool  was  left 
in  temporary  command  at  the  Narrows,  and  he  directed 
the  arrangements  of  the  troops. 

Captain  Washington's  battery  was  placed  to  command 
the  road  or  pass,  the  key  to  the  position  of  the  army. 
Colonel  Hardin's  First  Illinois  regiment  was  on  a ridge  to 
the  left  of  the  pass,  and  Colonel  McKee's  Second  Ken- 
tucky on  another  ridge  in  their  rear.  To  the  left  beyond 
these  was  posted  the  Second  Illinois,  under  Colonel  Bis- 
sell,  while  still  further  in  the  same  direction,  under  the 
mountain,  were  stationed  Colonels  Yell  and  Humphrey 


776 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS'  PEOPLE. 


chap.  Marshall,  with  the  Arkansas  and  Kentucky  volunteers. 

The  remainder  of  the  army,  including  Lane's  Indiana 

1847.  brigade  ; the  Mississippi  riflemen,  Colonel  Jefferson 
Davis  ; two  squadrons  of  dragoons,  and  Sherman  and 
Bragg's  batteries  of  flying  artillery,  were  placed  in  reserve 
on  the  rear  of  the  plateau. 

During  the  morning,  and  beyond  the  range  of  the 
American  artillery,  the  main  body  of  the  Mexicans  was 
also  arranged  in  order  of  battle.  Their  right,  a battery 
of  sixteen-pounders,  rested  on  the  base  of  the  mountains. 
These  guns  were  manned  bv  the  San  Patricio  regiment, 
composed  of  Irish  and  German  deserters  from  the  Ameri- 
can army.  Two  divisions,  Pacheco's  and  Lombardini's, 
extended  in  the  rear  of  this  battery  ; guns,  twelve  and 
eight-pounders,  were  posted  to  the  left,  and  a battalion 
occupied  a hill  in  advance  of  the  main  line,  directly  op- 
posite the  pass.  Their  cavalry  was  stationed  in  the  rear 
of  either  flank,  and  to  be  unencumbered,  the  baggage  of 
the  whole  army  was  left  many  miles  in  the  rear. 

About  noon  a Mexican  officer  brought  a note  to 
General  Taylor.  In  pompous  terms  Santa  Anna  sum- 
moned him  to  surrender  at  discretion,  and  trust  himself 
to  be  treated  “ with  the  consideration  belonging  to  the 
Mexican  character."  In  a brief  and  courteous  note  the 
American  commander  declined  the  proposal. 

Santa  Anna  noticed  that  the  mountains  to  the  east, 
beyond  the  American  left,  were  unguarded,  and  he  sent 
General  Ampudia,  with  light  troops,  around  a spur  to 
ascend  them  from  the  south  side.  The  movement  was 
observed,  and  Colonel  Marshall  dismounted  his  own  rifle- 
men and  those  of  the  Indiana  battalion,  and  commenced 
to  ascend  to  the  crest  of  the  ridge.  As  the  lines  gradually 
approached  each  other,  skirmishing  began.  The  Mexicans 
kept  up  a continuous  roar  of  musketry,  while  the  Ameri- 


BATTLE  OF  BUENA  YISTA — SKIRMISHING. 


777 


cans  lay  among  the  rocks,  whence  could  be  heard  the 
sharp  crack  of  their  rifles.  

The  Mexican  batteries  occasionally  threw  a shot,  but  1847 
the  Americans  on  the  plateau  remained  silent  ; they 
wished  a closer  conflict.  They  were  not  idle,  however, 
but  threw  up  temporary  works  to  protect  Washington's 
battery  in  front,  and  also  to  the  right  of  the  pass  close  up 
to  the  base  of  the  mountain.  Thus  passed  the  afternoon, 
with  only  severe  skirmishing  on  the  mountain  sides. 

When  night  came  on  the  Americans  were  recalled  to  the 
plain.  The  Mexicans  remained  in  position,  and  the  night 
passed  without  any  important  demonstration  on  either 
side. 

General  Minon  had  passed  through  the  defile,  Palo- 
mas  Adentro,  and  in  the  afternoon  appeared  with  his 
numerous  cavalry  upon  the  plains  north  of  Saltillo.  Here 
Santa  Anna  sent  him  orders  to  remain,  and  be  in  readi- 
ness to  fall  upon  the  American  forces,  which  he  promised 
to  either  capture  or  put  to  flight  the  next  morning. 

The  appearance  of  Minon  caused  no  little  anxiety,  and 
General  Taylor,  after  night-fall,  hastened  to  Saltillo  with 
aid,  to  assure  himself  that  any  attack  upon  the  stores 
would  be  repelled. 

During  the  night  Ampudia  was  reinforced  ; and  at 
dawn  he  renewed  the  attack,  and  stretched  his  line  farther 
to  the  right  ; but  Colonel  Marshall,  with  a portion  of  the 
Illinois  volunteers,  maintained  his  position,  though  pressed  Feb* 
by  superior  numbers.  2a‘ 

Soon  after  sunrise,  movements  in  the  Mexican  ranks 
indicated  that  a grand  attack  was  in  contemplation. 

Their  strength  was  nearly  all  thrown  toward  the  Ameri- 
can left,  where,  owing  to  the  smallness  of  their  number 
and  the  extent  of  the  ground,  the  troops  were  placed  at 
greater  intervals.  The  San  Patricio  battery  was  also 
brought  forward  and  placed  on  the  ridge  in  front  of  the 


778 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP,  plateau,  while  three  powerful  columns  of  attack  were 

arranged — columns  composed  of  the  best  soldiers  of  the 

1847.  army,  and  led  by  its  most  experienced  leaders.  As  the 
foremost  column  advanced,  General  Lane  ordered  Captain 
O’Brien  to  hold  them  in  check  with  his  guns,  and  the 
Second  Indiana  regiment  to  support  him.  O’Brien’s  shot 
ploughed  through  their  ranks  from  front  to  rear,  yet  the 
Mexicans  crowded  on  till  the  head  of  the  column  was 
literally  broken,  and  thrown  into  confusion,  and  refused 
to  advance.  Lane  now  ordered  O’Brien  to  move  forward 
fifty  yards  nearer  the  enemy.  The  Indiana  regiment  fol- 
lowed, hut  came  within  range  of  a Mexican  battery,  which 
opened  upon  their  flank.  They  were  ordered  to  retreat 
from  the  face  of  such  overpowering  numbers  ; the  retreat 
unfortunately  soon  became  a flight,  which  extended  quite 
beyond  the  enemy’s  guns.  Now  upon  O’Brien’s  artillery 
was  concentrated  the  entire  fire  of  the  Mexican  battery 
and  Pacheco’s  column.  His  horses  were  soon  disabled  ; 
not  a man  of  his  company  but  was  either  killed  or  wound- 
ed ; he  was  forced  to  fall  back  and  leave  to  the  enemy  one 
of  his  guns  as  a trophy — a trophy  which  they  seemed  to 
appreciate  very  highly. 

These  forces  now  advanced  and  formed  a juncture  with 
the  division  of  Lombardini  ; the  entire  body  then  moved 
against  the  plateau,  and  opened  a heavy  fire  upon  the 
Second  Illinois  regiment  under  Colonel  Bissell.  Four 
companies  of  Arkansas  volunteers  had  been  directed  to 
dismount  and  gain  the  plateau.  They  reached  it  in  the 
midst  of  this  conflict,  but  they  soon  became  panic-stricken 
and  fled.  The  Illinoians,  now  unsupported,  slowly  fell 
back.  While  this  was  in  progress,  a portion  of  the  Ken- 
tuckians were  forced  back,  and  Ampudia,  with  his  light 
troops,  came  down  the  mountain  and  completely  turned 
the  American  left.  The  third  heavy  column,  under  Mora 
y Yillamil,  pressed  on  against  Washington’s  battery  on  the 
road.  He  waited  till  they  came  within  close  range,  then 


BATTLE  OF  BUENA  VISTA — WHOLE  COMPANIES  RETREAT.  779 


poured  in  his  shot  with  surprising  rapidity  and  terrible 
effect  ; the  head  of  the  column  melted  away  before  the 
storm,  the  whole  mass  was  thrown  into  confusion,  swayed 
from  side  to  side,  then  broke  and  fled,  leaving  the  plain 
covered  with  a multitude  of  slain  and  wounded. 

Just  as  the  three  columns  of  the  enemy  had  failed  to 
force  the  American  centre  on  the  plateau,  General  Taylor, 
accompanied  by  fresh  troops,  arrived  upon  the  field  ; his 
presence  was  needed.  He  brought  with  him  every  avail- 
able man  that  could  be  spared  from  Saltillo.  They  were 
Colonel  May's  dragoons,  a portion  of  the  Mississippi  rifle- 
men, and  of  the  Arkansas  cavalry. 

The  natural  advantages  of  the  position  had  been  lost ; 
success  depended  alone  upon  the  bravery  of  the  troops  ; 
many  of  the  officers  had  fallen,  and  whole  companies  of 
the  volunteers,  both  infantry  and  horse,  had  left  the  field, 
and  were  in  disastrous  retreat  toward  Buena  Vista,  in 
spite  of  the  efforts  of  General  Wool  and  Colonel  Davis, 
and  other  officers  to  restrain  them. 

The  Mexican  infantry,  supported  by  their  fine  cavalry, 
right  and  left,  which  made  shock  after  shock,  continued 
to  press  on.  By  great  exertions  Davis  rallied  the  majority 
of  his  regiment,  and  a part  of  the  Second  Indiana  ; they 
advanced  at  a quick  step,  but  silent  until  within  rifle 
shot ; then  gave  the  approaching  foe  a destructive  fire. 
The  Mexicans  did  not  slacken  their  pace  till  they  came 
almost  to  the  edge  of  the  last  ravine  between  them  and 
their  enemy,  when  they  halted.  The  Americans  came  up 
to  the  opposite  edge  ; thus  for  a while  the  two  forces  con- 
fronted each  other  and  fired  across  the  ravine.  Presently 
a shout  along  the  American  line  rose  high  and  clear  above 
the  din  ; they  delivered  their  fire,  dashed  into  the  ravine, 
lingered  a moment  to  reload,  then  rose  upon  the  opposite 
crest,  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  and  with  defiant  shouts 
urged  home  their  fire  more  fearfully  than  ever.  The 


CHAP. 

LIL 


1S47. 


780 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LII. 


1847. 


Mexicans,  apparently  astounded  at  the  apparition  which 
was  sending  death  through  their  ranks,  wavered  for  a few 
minutes,  and  then  in  utter  confusion  rolled  hack  upon  the 
column  which  was  advancing  to  their  support. 

Scarcely  was  Colonel  Davis  free  from  this  when  he 
was  assailed  by  a force  coming  in  another  direction.  A 
thousand  lancers  who  had  not  been  engaged  approached 
along  the  broad  ridge  ; they  were  well  supported  by  in- 
fantry. To  meet  this  new  enemy  Davis,  was  aided  by  the 
Second  and  Third  Indiana  regiments.  He  extended  his 
line  across  the  ridge,  stationed  Captain  Sherman  on  his 
left,  and  placed  his  men  in  the  form  of  the  letter  V,  the 
opening  toward  the  approaching  lancers.  They  com- 
menced to  advance  at  a gallop  as  if  to  charge  their  way 
through  the  centre.  But  as  they  drew  near  they  gradually 
slackened  their  pace  ; they  expected  the  Americans  would 
fire,  and  then  they  would  ride  them  down  before  they 
could  reload  their  pieces.  The  latter  fired  not  a gun,  but 
awaited  their  approach.  At  length  the  lancers  came  to  a 
walk  at  the  opening  of  the  angle.  The  silence  seemed  to 
fill  them  with  awe  ; they  were  within  eighty  yards  of  a 
thousand  marksmen,  every  one  of  whom  could  take  de- 
liberate aim.  At  the  word,  every  musket  and  rifle  was 
poised — a moment  intervened — then  went  forth  the  mes- 
sengers of  death.  The  entire  front  ranks  of  the  lancers 
were  riddled,  not  a ball  appeared  to  have  failed  of  its 
errand.  This  was  followed  by  grape  and  cannister  from 
Sherman's  battery.  The  dead  and  wounded  men  and 
horses  made  a barricade  of  struggling  life,  over  which  they 
could  not  pass.  Even  at  this  time,  their  overpowering 
numbers,  had  it  not  been  for  this  obstruction,  might  have 
enabled  them  to  break  through  the  line  and  gain  the  road 
in  the  rear  of  the  plateau,  and  thus  have  modified  or 
changed  the  fortune  of  the  day.  But  those  in  the  rear 
were  appalled  at  the  destruction  of  their  companions,  and 
the  whole  mass  fled  headlong  from  the  field.  As  in  evei  v 


BATTLE  OF  BUENA  VISTA TORREJON’S  REPULSE. 


781 


other  instance  the  Americans,  for  want  of  numbers  and  chap 

cavalry,  could  not  pursue  them,  and  the  fugitives  passed  

south  of  the  plateau  to  be  re-formed  for  another  attack.  1847. 

Meantime  a squadron  of  cavalry  under  Torrejon  skirted 
the  mountain  base  to  the  left,  and  penetrated  to  Buena 
Vista,  whither  the  commands  of  Marshall  and  Yell  had 
retired.  General  Taylor  sent  all  the  cavalry  he  could 
spare,  under  Colonel  May,  to  reinforce  that  point.  Tor- 
rejon fell  back  on  his  approach,  and  May  returned  to  the 
plateau.  Then  Torrejon  advanced  again  : this  time  the 
volunteers  received  him  with  a scattering  fire  ; but  the 
Mexicans,  confident  in  numbers,  rode  on  rapidly  toward  the 
hacienda ; there  they  were  held  in  check  by  a portion  of 
the  two  battalions.  It  was  here  that  Colonel  Yell,  as  he 
made  a charge,  was  killed  at  the  head  of  his  men.  Tor- 
rejon himself  was  wounded,  and  Colonel  May  made  his 
appearance  again,  this  time  with  two  field-pieces,  and  the 
Mexicans  separated  into  two  divisions  and  retreated  out 
of  danger. 

On  the  plateau  the  battle  had  raged  in  one  continuous 
cannonade  : the  Mexicans  had  on  the  ridge  in  front,  a 
battery  of  eighteen  and  twenty-four  pounders,  principally 
manned  by  the  San  Patricio  regiment,  yet  they  could  not 
silence  the  American  guns.  At  this  point  there  was  a 
temporary  lull  in  the  storm. 

But  on  the  east  side  of  the  valley,  to  the  rear  of  the 
plateau,  a severe  conflict  was  in  progress.  One  of  the 
Mexican  divisions  retreating  from  Buena  Vista,  had  united 
with  a large  force  sent  by  Santa  Anna  to  make  its  way  on 
the  extreme  left  round  to  the  American  rear. 

Colonel  May  with  his  dragoons  and  a portion  of  the 
Illinoians  and  Indianians  was  engaged  in  the  unequal  con- 
test. General  Taylor  sent  to  his  aid  a portion  of  the  ar- 
tillery and  the  dragoons,  with  some  of  the  volunteer 
cavalry. 


782 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


ClhP’  They  soon  accomplished  the  object  by  cutting  oft  the 

retreat  of  the  Mexicans  who  had  passed  so  far  beyond  the 

1847.  American  left.  They  were  driven  against  the  base  of  the 
mountain  and  thrown  into  inextricable  confusion.  Bra^o- 

oo 

advanced  within  close  canister  range,  and  with  their 
wonted  rapidity  his  guns  played  upon  them  : the  shot 
tore  and  crashed  through  the  bewildered  multitude,  and 
those  next  the  mountain  endeavored  to  escape  by  clam- 
bering up  its  sides.  The  whole  force,  about  five  thousand, 
became  utterly  helpless,  while  the  wounded  and  dying 
were  increasing  at  a fearful  rate  : the  horses  frantic  with 
pain  and  terror  added  to  the  confusion.  A few  minutes 
more  and  they  must  have  laid  down  their  arms  ; at  this 
crisis,  as  if  to  stay  the  arm  of  death,  a white  flag  was 
seen  approaching  from  General  Taylor’s  position.  When 
it  came  near  the  artillery  ceased  to  fire. 

Three  Mexican  officers  had  appeared  as  if  for  a parley; 
they  professed  to  bear  a message  from  the  Mexican  chief. 
When  brought  into  the  presence  of  General  Taylor  they 
wished  to  know  “ what  he  wanted.”  The  reply  was  the 
surrender  of  the  Mexican  army.  They  asked  time  for 
consideration  ; the  trick  was  not  suspected,  and  the  re- 
quest was  granted.  A messenger  bearing  a white  flag 
was  hastened  with  orders  to  Captain  Bragg  to  cease  firing, 
as  the  Mexicans  were  about  to  lay  down  their  arms. 

General  Wool  was  deputed  to  accompany  the  officers 
to  Santa  Anna,  who  took  care  not  to  be  seen.  As  Wool 
perceived  that  the  Mexicans  continued  to  fire,  though  the 
Americans  had  ceased,  he  declared  the  conference  at  an 
end,  and  returned  to  his  own  army. 

Meanwhile,  under  the  protection  of  the  flag  of  peace, 
the  body  of  Mexicans  in  trouble  stealthily  crept  along  the 
base  of  the  mountain  out  of  danger,  and  joined  their  main 
army  south  of  the  plateau.  Thus,  whether  designed  or 
not,  Santa  Anna  had  extricated  his  soldiers,  and  had  alsc 
learned  from  his  spies — the  Mexican  officers — the  small 


BATTLE  01  BUENA  VISTA — THE  LAST  ATTACK. 


783 


number  of  American  troops — only  three  regiments  of  in- 
fantry and  three  guns — on  the  plateau,  and  that  their 
main  portion  was  far  to  the  left,  whither  they  had  driven 
the  Mexican  right  wing.  Shielding  his  men  from  sight 
by  ravines  and  spurs  of  the  mountain,  he  had  for  hours 
been  concentrating  all  his  strength  for  a final  assault 
upon  the  American  central  position  at  the  pass.  At 
several  points  he  had  met  with  partial  success  ; hut  in 
the  main  his  plans  had  been  frustrated  by  the  indomi- 
table courage,  rapid  movements,  and  hard  fighting  of  his 
opponents. 

Having  concentrated  his  forces,  he  now  brought  his  re- 
serve into  action,  aided  by  the  troops  of  the  right  wing 
which  had  just  been  rescued  from  peril.  The  whole  force — 
twelve  thousand  strong — the  front  regiments  composed  of 
veterans,  with  General  Perez  at  their  head,  moved  up  the 
ascent  from  the  valley.  The  scattered  companies  (Illi- 
nois and  Kentucky  volunteers)  in  advance  of  the  line  were 
taken  by  surprise  at  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  enemy 
in  such  numbers  ; the  enemy,  which  an  hour  or  two  be- 
fore they  had  seen  in  utter  confusion,  retreating  from  the 
field.  The  multitude,  pouring  in  volley  after  volley  of 
musketry,  pressed  on  and  compelled  these  companies  to 
retire  toward  the  lines.  O’Brien  was  left  almost  alone 
with  his  artillery,  yet  for  a time  he  maintained  his  place. 
His  shot  buried  themselves  in  the  ranks  of  the  approach- 
ing enemy ; but  the  mass  closed  up  the  gaps  and  steadily 
came  nearer  and  nearer.  For  round  shot  he  substituted 
canister,  and  they  were  checked  for  a time  ; but  it  was  their 
last  struggle  to  secure  the  field.  Trusting  to  numbers 
and  heedless  of  death,  the  mass  again  moved  on.  Pres- 
ently there  was  not  an  infantry  soldier  to  support  the 
guns,  nor  a horse  to  draw  them;  still  the  gunners  stood  to 
their  places,  and  i ^treated  only  as  their  pieces  recoiled. 
At  length  overtaken  every  officer  or  gunner  either  killed 


CHAP 

LII. 


1847. 


784 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CLnP*  or  W0UD(^e(i>  O’Brien  himself  among  the  latter,  they  aban- 
doned  them  to  the  enemy. 

*847.  Meanwhile  the  companies  of  volunteers  took  refuge  in 
a deep  ravine  to  the  right  of  the  pass.  The  Mexicans 
lined  its  crest  and  kept  upon  them  a continuous  volley  of 
musketry,  to  which  they  could  scarcely  reply,  while  their 
cavalry  dashed  forward  to  the  mouth  of  the  ravine  to  cut 
off  their  retreat.  Fortunately  the  route  of  the  cavalry 
brought  them  within  range  of  Washington’s  battery  at 
the  pass.  His  guns  were  immediately  brought  to  bear 
upon  them  ; they  recoiled,  relinquished  their  object,  and 
began  to  retreat,  while,  by  throwing  shot  over  the  heads 
of  the  volunteers  who  were  now  moving  out,  he  harassed 
them  exceedingly.  The  Mexican  infantry,  now  unop- 
posed, descended  into  the  ravine,  and  cruelly  murdered 
every  wounded  man  they  could  find. 

It  was  in  this  desperate  encounter  that  Colonels 
Hardin,  McKee,  and  Henry  Clay,  junior,  (son  of  the  dis- 
tinguished statesman,)  and  great  numbers  of  brave  and 
generous  men  were  slain. 

The  crisis  of  the  conflict  was  near.  O’Brien  overcome 
there  was  no  one  to  oppose  ; and,  encouraged  by  their  suc- 
cess, the  Mexicans  pushed  on  with  unusual  vigor.  At 
the  commencement  of  this  last  attack  the  Americans  were 
more  or  less  scattered  over  the  plateau  and  on  the  ex- 
tremes of  the  field  ; hut  the  heavy  roar  of  the  battle  made 
known  that  the  issue  of  the  day  was  about  to  be  deter- 
mined, and  they  hastened,  of  their  own  accord,  to  the  post 
of  danger. 

It  was  an  hour  of  intense  anxiety  to  General  Taylor, 
as  he  saw  this  unexpected  host  advance  in  such  order  and 
with  such  determination.  The  battle  had  already  lasted 
eight  hours  ; the  toil  of  so  many  rapid  movements  ovei 
the  rough  field  had  wearied  his  men,  while  the  approach- 
ing enemy’s  force  was  fresh,  and  in  number  four  to  one 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BUENA  YISTA THE  RESULT 


785 


of  his  own.  Was  it  possible  to  hold  them  in  check  till  chap 

his  own  troops  could  come  up  ? He  sent  messenger  after  

messenger  to  urge  them  on.  In  one  direction  could  be  1847 
seen  Bragg,  and  in  another  Sherman,  driving  with  whip 
and  spur  the  jaded  horses  attached  to  their  batteries  ; 
while  in  the  distance  to  the  left  of  the  pass,  could  be  seen 
the  Mississippians  and  Indianians,  under  their  officers 
Davis  and  Lane,  rapidly  advancing,  now  in  sight  and  now 
disappearing  as  they  crossed  the  deep  ravines. 

Bragg  was  the  first  to  come  up.  As  he  drew  near  he  sent 
to  ask  for  infantry  to  support  his  guns  ; but  Taylor  could 
only  send  him  word  that  not  a man  could  be  had  ; he 
must  fight  to  the  death.  The  Mexicans  were  rushing  on, 
and  before  he  could  unlimber  his  guns  they  were  within  a 
few  yards  of  their  muzzles  ; but  his  men  seemed  to  be  in- 
spired with  an  energy  beyond  human,  and  with  a rapidity 
greater  than  ever,  discharge  followed  discharge.  The 
enemy  faltered,  as  if  waiting  for  them  to  cease  but  for  a 
moment,  that  they  might  rush  forward  and  capture  them. 

No  such  moment  was  granted  ; they  still  hesitated,  and 
were  thrown  into  confusion.  By  this  time  Sherman  came 
up  and  opened  with  his  wonted  effect  ; in  a few  minutes 
more  Washington’s  battery  at  the  pass  moved  forward 
and  did  the  same.  Davis  and  Lane  had  just  closed  with 
the  enemy’s  right  flank  and  commenced  to  pour  in  their 
fire.  The  Mexicans  recoiled  on  all  sides  ; they  could  not 
carry  the  pass  ; hope  seemed  to  desert  every  breast,  and 
pell-mell  they  rushed  from  the  field. 

Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista.  It  had  lasted 
ten  hours  ; had  been  a series  of  encounters,  in  different 
parts  of  the  field,  each  one  severe  in  itself,  but  indecisive 
in  result.  Never  before  had  an  American  army  contend- 
ed with  such  odds,  and  under  disadvantages  so  great.  It 
was  won  by  the  superior  handling  of  the  flying  artillery, 
which  thinned  and  broke  the  foremost  ranks  of  the  enemy 
before  they  could  bring  their  superior  numbers  to  bear. 


786 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  When  repulsed,  they  invariably  fell  back  out  of  danger,  to 

be  again  re-formed  for  another  attack,  while  the  Ameri- 

2847.  cans,  for  want  of  cavalry  and  sufficient  numbers,  could 
not  pursue  and  disperse  them  beyond  the  power  of  rally- 
ing. On  the  part  of  the  latter  the  day  was  one  of  un- 
remitting toil  ; their  fewness  of  numbers,  the  extent  of 
the  field,  the  roughness  of  the  ground,  and  the  numerous 
attacks,  forced  them  to  be  continually  in  rapid  and 
laborious  motion.  General  Taylor  was  in  the  midst  of 
flying  balls  for  eight  hours,  only  one  of  which  passed 
through  his  coat.  He  was  ably  seconded  by  his  officers,  not 
one  of  whom  swerved  from  a post  of  danger  nor  neglected  a 
duty — especially  could  this  be  said  of  General  Wool,  who 
seemed  to  be  at  every  point  where  he  was  specially  needed 
The  superior  skill  with  which  the  American  guns  were 
handled  was  due  to  the  exertions  of  the  West  Point 
officers,  who  spared  no  effort  to  infuse  into  the  ranks  their 
own  spirit  of  discipline  ; and  equal  honor  is  due  to  the 
volunteers,  who,  with  but  few  exceptions,  cheerfully  sub- 
mitted to  the  requisite  drudgery  of  drill. 

The  Mexicans  hoped  to  win  the  battle  by  musketry 
and  charges  of  cavalry  ; their  heavy  guns  they  did  not 
bring  upon  the  field,  but  placed  them  in  battery  in  front 
of  the  pass. 

The  influence  of  this  battle  was  more  important  than 
any  one  of  the  war.  It  destroyed  that  fictitious  prestige 
which  Santa  Anna  had  obtained  over  his  countrymen  by 
his  vain  boastings  and  unsparing  censure  of  their  pre- 
vious commanders,  and  it  greatly  increased  their  dread 
of  the  invader's  artillery  ; henceforth  they  met  them  only 
from  behind  defences,  and  avoided  them  in  the  open  field. 

Night  closed  in.  The  Americans  took  every  precau- 
tion to  repel  the  attack  which  was  expected  the  next 
morning.  Strong  pickets  were  posted  to  prevent  the 
enemy  from  passing  round  to  the  right  or  left.  The  troops 


SANTA  ANNA'S  RETREAT. 


having  been  supplied  with  their  rations,  remained  on  the 
field  for  the  nighf.  Fresh  companies  were  brought  from 
the  rear  to  supply  the  place  of  those  who  took  charge  of 
the  wounded,  who  were  carried  in  wTagons  to  Saltillo, 
The  loss  of  the  day  had  been  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
killed,  and  four  hundred  and  fifty-six  wounded. 

The  morning  dawned,  but  not  a Mexican  could  be 
seen.  Santa  Anna  had  retreated,  leaving  his  wounded  to 
their  fate,  and  his  dead  unburied.  More  than  two  thou- 
sand of  his  men,  including  many  officers  of  high  rank,  lay 
scattered  over  the  field. 

Scouts  hurried  on  to  reconnoitre  ; in  an  hour  or  two 
they  returned  with  information  that  he  was  far  on  his  way 
toward  Agua  Nueva.  General  Taylor  and  his  staff  im- 
mediately moved  on  in  the  same  direction,  but  sent  in 
advance  Major  Bliss,  with  a proposition  to  Santa  Anna 
for  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  and  a request  that  he  would 
send  for  his  wounded,  as  well  as  another  assurance  that 
the  American  government  was  desirous  of  peace.  An  ex- 
change of  prisoners  took  place,  but  as  Santa  Anna  pro- 
fessed to  have  no  means  to  remove  his  wounded,  he  left 
them  to  be  cared  for  by  the  Americans  ; as  to  the  propo- 
sition for  peace  he  replied,'  in  his  usual  style  of  bravado, 
that  he  should  prosecute  the  war  until  the  invaders  had 
left  his  country. 

The  Mexican  soldiers  were  in  a truly  deplorable  con- 
dition ; they  were  without  hospital  supplies,  and  almost 
literally  without  food,  and  no  means  to  obtain  it — a desert 
before  them,  and  a victorious  enemy  in  their  rear.  Santa 
Anna  urged  on  his  retreat  toward  San  Luis  Potosi, 
whence  one  month  before  he  had  set  out  sure  of  victory ; 
desertions  had  now  reduced  his  great  army  to  a mere 
remnant,  and  that  discouraged  by  defeat,  while  confidence 
in  his  generalship  was  gone.  In  addition,  signs  of  another 
revolution  were  appearing  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  by  which 
his  enemies  might  triumph. 


787 

CHAP 

LII. 

1847. 

Feb. 

24. 


788 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LII. 


1847. 

Feb. 

27. 


Mar. 

30. 


General  Taylor  advanced  to  Agua  Nueva  thence  two 
days  later  he  detached  Colonel  Belknap,  with  the  dra- 
goons and  a regiment  of  infantry — transported  in  wagons 
across  the  desert — to  surprise  the  rear  guard  of  the  Mexi- 
can army  at  Encarnacion.  The  feat  was  successfully  ac- 
complished. All  along  the  way  from  the  battle-field  were 
found  multitudes  of  poor  Mexican  soldiers,  left  by  their 
heartless  companions  to  die  of  their  wounds,  hunger,  and 
fatigue.  As  soon  as  possible  the  humane  Taylor  sent 
them  provisions,  and  had  those  that  could  be  removed 
conveyed  to  Saltillo  and  placed  under  the  care  of  the 
American  surgeons. 

While  these  operations  were  in  progress,  the  two 
Mexican  generals,  Urrea  and  Romero,  with  their  corps  of 
cavalry,  had  appeared  on  the  line  of  communication  be- 
tween Saltillo  and  the  Rio  Grande.  They  had  captured 
some  wagons,  taken  some  prisoners,  and  spread  alarm  all 
along  the  line.  A sufficient  force  was  now  sent  to  chastise 
them,  hut  they  rapidly  retreated  out  of  danger  by  the 
pass  of  Tula,  leaving  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  the 
Americans. 

General  Taylor,  by  easy  stages,  retraced  his  steps, 
and  encamped  once  more  at  the  Walnut  Springs,  near 
Monterey. 

Whilst  the  line  of  communication  was  broken,  vague 
rumors  reached  the  United  States,  first,  that  Santa  Anna 
was  approaching  Monterey  with  a large  army,  then,  that 
the  American  army  had  been  overpowered.  These  ap- 
prehensions were  greatly  increased  by  a volunteer  Colonel 
at  Camargo,  who,  in  his  alarm,  sent  an  urgent  appeal  for 
fifty  thousand  men  to  be  sent  immediately  to  the  seat  of 
war.  Presently  came  intelligence  of  the  battle  of  Buena 
Yista ; and  the  intense  anxiety  of  the  people  was 
changed  to  admiration  for  the  men  who,  under  such  try- 
ing circumstances,  had  maintained  the  honor  of  their 


GENERAL  TAYLOR’S  RECEPTION. 


789 


country.  Gen.  Taylor,  of  whom  so  little  had  been  known  chap 

before  the  commencement  of  this  war,  rose  higher  and  

higher  in  public  estimation.  Some  months  later,  when  1847. 
he  returned  to  the  United  States,  he  was  received  with 
demonstrations  of  the  highest  respect. 

It  was  an  era  in  the  education  of  young  women  in  the 
United  States,  when  in  1837  Mount  Holyoke  Seminary, 
in  Massachusetts,  began  its  grand  work.  This  institution 
was  the  outgrowth  of  the  untiring  and  consecrated  zeal 
of  Miss  Mary  Lyon,  who  was  born  in  the  town  of  Buck- 
land  in  that  State.  Miss  Lyon  was  very  remarkable  for  her  Feb-  2a 
power  of  acquiring  knowledge,  and  also  for  her  skill  in 
imparting  the  same  to  pupils.  Because  of  limited  means, 
her  very  hard  lot  in  obtaining  an  education — which  she 
did  by  her  own  exertions — suggested  the  field  of  her 
usefulness  and  appealed  to  her  generous  nature,  and  she 
devised  a plan  by  which  she  hoped  that  girls  situated  as 
she  had  been  could  in  part  support  themselves  while 
being  educated,  by  performing  a portion  of  the  household 
work  of  the  institution. 

In  that  day — to  their  shame  be  it  said — legislatures 
appropriated  funds  only  to  colleges  for  young  men,  and 
Miss  Lyon  was  forced  to  appeal  to  private  Christian 
benevolence.  After  years  of  her  persistent  efforts, 
funds  were  secured ; a substantial  building  was  erected 
and  equipped  ; and  Holyoke  opened  its  first  session  with 
eighty  pupils.  Miss  Lyon  presided  over  the  institution 
till  her  death  in  1849  ; this  was  after  thirty-five  years 
of  active  teaching  and  unremitting  toil.  1849. 

The  reasons  for  founding  Holyoke  Seminary  still  re- 
mained, and  that  this  fact  elicited  the  practical  sympathy 
of  the  benevolent,  let  our  Yassars,  Wellesleys,  Smiths, 
Pittsburg  College,  and  many  other  institutions  for  young 
women  bear  witness. 


CHAPTER  LIII 


POLK’S  ADMINISTRATION— CONTINUED. 

Emigration  to  Oregon. — John  C.  Fremont ; his  Explorations ; his  diffi* 
culties  with  the  Mexican  Governor. — American  Settlers  in  alarm. — 
California  free  from  Mexican  Rule. — Monterey  on  the  Pacific  captured. 
— Commodores  Sloat  and  Stockton. — Kearney’s  Expedition. — Santa 
Fe  taken;  a Government  organized. — Doniphan’s  Expedition. — Various 
Conflicts. — Chihuahua  occupied. — An  Insurrection ; its  Suppression. — 
Trial  of  Fremont. 

CLm"  The  imPortance  °f  securing  Oregon  by  settlement  had 

. especially  attracted  the  attention  of  the  people  of  the 

1842.  Western  States.  The  stories  of  hunters,  and  the  glowing 
descriptions  given  in  the  newspapers  of  that  distant  region, 
imbued  the  minds  of  the  adventurous  with  an  enthusiasm 
as  ardent  as  that  which  glowed  in  the  breasts  of  the  eaflier 
explorers  and  settlers  of  this  country  two  and  a half 
centuries  before.  A thousand  emigrants,  consisting  of 
men,  their  wives  and  children,  driving  before  them  their 
flocks  and  herds,  their  only  weapon  the  trusty  rifle — alike 
to  protect  from  savage  violence  and  to  procure  sustenance 
from  the  wandering  droves  of  buffalo  and  deer — set  out 
from  the  confines  of  Missouri.  They  passed  up  the  long 
eastern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  over  them  through 
the  South  Pass,  thence  to  Lewis'  River  and  down  it  to  the 
Columbia,  on  whose  shores  they  found  a resting  place, 
after  a toilsome  journey  of  six  months,  through  an  un- 
trodden mountainous  region. 

These  emigrants  were  followed  the  next  year  by 


COLONY  ON  THE  COLUMBIA — FREMONT. 


791 


another  company,  consisting  of  two  thousand,  who  passed 
over  the  same  route. 

These  enterprising  settlers,  with  the  few  who  had  pre- 
ceded them,  labored  under  many  difficulties,  as  the  United 
States  government  did  not  exercise  the  jurisdiction  which 
it  claimed  over  the  territory.  A bill  introduced  into  the 
Senate,  granted  lands  to  actual  settlers,  and  made  pro- 
vision to  maintain  their  rights  as  citizens  by  extending 
over  them  the  laws  of  the  territory  of  Iowa.  Though  this 
bill  passed  only  the  Senate,  it  gave  encouragement  to 
those  persons  who  desired  to  emigrate  to  the  banks  of  the 
Columbia.  A colony  thus  planted  by  private  enterprise, 
and  thus  slightly  encouraged  by  the  government,  became 
the  germ  of  another  State,  (Oregon)  now  added  to  the 
Union. 

It  was  in  connection  with  this  awakened  spirit  of 
emigration  that  Colonel  John  C.  Fremont,  then  a lieu- 
tenant, made  his  first  exploring  expedition.  He  was  a 
young  man,  once  friendless  and  unknown,  but  had  risen 
by  his  own  talents  and  industry,  and  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Poinsett,  then  Secretary  of  War,  had  been  ap- 
pointed in  the  Topographical  Engineers  by  President  Jack- 
son.  Fremont  solicited  and  obtained  permission  from  the 
government  to  explore  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  their 
passes,  but  at  this  time  with  special  reference  to  the 
South  Pass  and  its  vicinity.  In  six  months  he  returned  ; 
he  had  accurately  determined  the  location  of  that  Pass, 
which  now  became  a fixed  point  in  the  path  of  emigration 
to  Oregon. 

Soon  after  his  return,  Fremont  again  asked  for  orders 
to  prosecute  still  further  explorations  in  that  distant 
region.  They  were  given  ; but  after  his  preparations 
were  made,  and  he  and  his  party  had  reached  the  frontiers 
of  Missouri,  the  government  countermanded  his  orders,  on 


CHAP 

LIII. 


1843, 


1859 


792 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIII. 


1643. 


the  singular  plea  that  he  had  armed  his  party,  in  addition 
to  their  rifles,  with  a small  mountain  howitzer.  But  for- 
tunately for  science  and  the  country,  the  letter  containing 
the  order  came  to  Mrs.  Fremont,  whom  he  had  requested 
to  examine  his  letters  and  forward  only  those  he  ought  to 
receive.  She  deemed  the  government  countermand  one 
that  he  ought  not  to  receive,  and  Fremont  knew  nothing 
of  its  existence  until  he  returned  from  his  eventful  tour. 
On  his  return  he  was  received  with  honor,  his  conduct  ap- 
proved, and  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary  o! 
War,  William  Wilkins,  the  brevet  of  captain  was  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  President  Tyler. 

He  had  received  special  orders  to  survey  the  route  of 
travel  from  the  frontiers  of  Missouri  to  the  tide-waters 
of  the  Columbia.  This  was  accomplished  by  the  first  of 
November,  after  six  months’  labor,  though  often  he  diverged 
from  the  main  route  to  make  useful  observations.  He  now 
resolved  to  return  immediately,  and  when  on  the  way  to  ex- 
plore the  vast  territory  which  must  lie  between  the  route 
he  had  passed  over  and  the  Pacific.  To  pass  through  this 
region  in  midwinter  was  no  easy  matter.  Soon  deep 
snows  appeared  on  the  highlands,  and  the  party  descended 
into  the  valley,  now  known  as  the  Great  Basin,  out  of 
which  flows  no  stream.  On  the  west,  the  mountains 
loomed  up  with  their  snowy  tops  ; every  thing  was  strange  ; 
the  Indians,  terrified  at  the  approach  of  white  men,  fled  : 
a desert  appeared,  and  with  it  the  vision  of  starvation 
and  death.  No  place  could  they  find,  as  they  had  hoped, 
where  they  might  winter  and  derive  their  sustenance  from 
hunting  the  animals  of  the  forest.  They  passed  down  to 
the  latitude  of  San  Francisco,  as  found  by  astronomical 
observations  ; but  between  them  and  that  place,  the 
nearest  point  where  they  could  obtain  aid  from  civilized 
man,  rose  mountains,  their  snowy  tops  piercing  the  clouds  ; 
their  sides  frowning  precipices  thousands  of  feet  high.  No 
Indian  would  act  as  a guide  through  their  passes.  The 


THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  EXPLORATION. 


793 


whole  party,  by  excessive  toil  and  want  of  food,  were  re- 
duced to  skeletons,  both  men  and  horses.  Finally  they 
fC  crawled  over  the  Sierra  Nevada,”  and  arrived  at  the 
head-waters  of  the  Sacramento.  “ In  this  eventful  ex- 
ploration, all  the  great  features  of  the  western  slope  of 
our  continent  were  brought  to  light — the  Great  Salt  Lake, 
the  Utah  Lake,  the  Little  Salt  Lake — at  all  which  places* 
then  desert,  the  Mormons  now  are  ; the  Sierra  Nevada, 
then  solitary  in  the  snow,  now  crowded  with  Americans, 
digging  gold  from  its  banks  ; the  beautiful  valleys  of  the 
Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin,  then  alive  with  wild  horses, 
elk,  deer,  and  wild  fowls,  now  smiling  with  American 
cultivation.  The  Great  Basin  itself,  and  its  contents  ; 
the  Three  Parks  ; the  approximation  of  the  great  rivers 
which,  rising  together  in  the  central  region  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  go  off  east  and  west  towards  the  rising  and 
the  setting  sun, — all  these,  and  other  strange  features  of 
a new  region,  more  Asiatic  than  American,  were  brought 
to  light,  and  revealed  to  public  view  in  the  results  of  this 
exploration.”  1 

In  May,  Fremont  set  out  on  his  third  expedition  to 
explore  still  further  the  Great  West.  There  were  now 
indications  that  war  would  soon  result  between  Mexico 
and  the  United  States.  But  to  avoid  exciting  the  sus- 
picions of  the  Mexicans,  he  obtained  permission  from 
General  De  Castro,  commandant  at  Monterey  on  the 
Pacific,  to  pass  the  following  winter  in  the  uninhabitable 
portion  of  the  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin.  But  before 
long,  De  Castro  professed  to  believe  that  his  object  was 
not  scientific  exploration,  but  to  excite  a rebellion  among 
the  American  settlers,  and  he  undertook  to  either  drive 
him  out  of  the  country  or  capture  the  whole  party.  A 
messenger,  secretly  sent  by  the  United  States  consul  at 


CHAP. 

LIII. 

1848. 


1845 


Benton’s  Thirty  Years’  View,  Yol.  ii.  Chap.  134. 


794 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIIL 


1845. 


1846. 


Monterey,  Mr.  Larkin,  suddenly  appeared  in  his  camp  and 
informed  him  of  these  unfriendly  designs.  Fremont  im~ 
diately  chose  a strong  position  on  a mountain,  raised  the 
American  flag,  and  he  and  his  sixty  determined  followers 
resolved  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible.  After 
waiting  four  days,  as  De  Castro  hesitated  to  attack  his 
camp,  he  came  down  from  the  mountain  and  set  out  for 
Oregon  through  the  region  of  the  Tlamath  lakes. 

During  the  former  part  of  May  he  was  overtaken  by  a 
United  States  officer,  Lieutenant  Gillespie,  who  brought 
a letter  of  introduction  from  James  Buchanan,  Secretary 
of  State,  and  verbal  instructions  to  the  effect  that  he 
should  counteract  any  foreign  scheme  on  California,  and 
conciliate  the  good  will  of  the  inhabitants  toward  the 
United  States. 

Fremont  was  now  on  the  confines  of  Oregon,  but  at 
once  he  turned  back  to  California.  When  he  arrived  in 
the  valley  of  the  Sacramento,  he  found  the  whole  com- 
munity in  a state  of  great  excitement.  Among  the 
Mexicans  two  projects  were  in  contemplation  : one  to 
massacre  the  American  settlers  ; the  other  to  place  Cali- 
fornia under  British  protection,  and  thus  shield  them- 
selves against  the  arms  of  the  United  States  in  case  of  a 
war  with  Mexico. 

A deputation  from  the  American  settlers  hastened  to 
lay  before  him  a statement  of  these  facts  ; and,  in  addition, 
that  the  Indians  had  been  incited  against  them  ; that 
General  De  Castro  was  on  his  march  to  attack  them,  and 
also  that  a British  fleet  was  daily  expected  upon  the 
coast. 

Though  the  countries  were  at  peace  when  he  left  home, 
the  approach  of  De  Castro  with  a hostile  army  demanded 
decisive  measures,  and  Fremont  accepted  the  trust  in 
self-defence.  The  American  settlers  flocked  to  his  camp, 
brought  their  horses,  their  ammunition,  their  provisions 


COMMODORE  SLOAT  CAPTURES  MONTEREY. 


795 


and  submitted  cheerfully  to  the  strictness  of  military  dis- 
cipline. 

In  one  month's  time7  after  a few  conflicts,  Mexican 
rule  was  at  an  end  in  northern  California.  The  flag  of 
independence  was  raised,  its  device  a grizzly  bear — indi- 
cative of  indomitable  courage — while  General  De  Castro 
was  retreating,  and  all  other  schemes  completely  prostated. 

Commodore  Sloat,  commanding  on  the  Pacific,  received 
directions  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  George  Ban- 
croft. u If  you  ascertain  with  certainty,"  said  the  Sec- 
retary, “ that  Mexico  has  declared  war  against  the  United 
States,  you  will  at  once  possess  yourself  of  the  port  of  San 
Francisco,  and  blockade  or  occupy  such  other  ports  as 
your  force  may  permit." 

The  commodore  was  at  Mazatlan,  and  a British 
squadron,  under  Admiral  Seymour,  was  there  also.  The 
former,  from  certain  indications,  suspected  he  was  watched; 
if  so,  he  determined  to  foil  the  admiral.  Accordingly,  he 
weighed  anchor  and  sailed  west  as  if  going  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  Seymour  followed,  but  in  the  night  Sloat 
tacked  and  ran  up  the  coast  to  Monterey,  while  Seymour 
continued  on  to  the  islands.  Sloat  arrived  at  Monterey 
and  offered  the  usual  civilities  to  the  town  ; they  were 
declined  on  a frivolous  excuse.  It  was  evident  that  his 
presence  was  not  agreeable.  Five  days  later  he  heard  of 
the  movements  of  Fremont  and  the  settlers,  and  he  at 
once  took  possession  of  the  town.  Then  he  sent  a cou- 
rier to  the  latter,  who  hastened  with  his  mounted  men  to 
join  the  commodore.  They  were  mutually  astonished  on 
finding  that  neither  of  them  had  acted  under  direct  or- 
ders from  their  own  government.  The  flag  of  independ- 
ent California  was  now  supplanted  by  the  colors  of  the 
United  States. 

Commodore  Stockton  in  a few  days  came  into  the  har- 
bor, to  whom  Sloat  turned  over  the  command,  as  he  himself 
intended  to  return  home.  The  next  day  came  Admiral 


CHAP 

LIII. 


1846. 

June 

1. 

July 

4. 


July 

7. 


796 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIII. 


1846. 

Au^ 

ir. 


Seymour  in  his  flag-ship.  He  saw  with  surprise  the 
American  flag  floating  over  the  town,  the  American 
riflemen  encamped  near  by,  and  an  American  fleet  in  the 
harbor.  One  month  later  Stockton  and  Fremont  took 
possession  of  Los  Angeles,  the  capital  of  Upper  California. 

California  had  been  for  some  time  in  a half  revolu- 
tionary state.  The  inhabitants  were  dissatisfied  with 
Mexican  rule.  Some  wished  to  join  the  United  States, 
and  some  to  seek  the  protection  of  Great  Britain.  The 
conciliatory  course  pursued  by  Fremont  did  much  in 
winning  the  Californians  to  the  American  standard. 

In  the  latter  part  of  July  the  “ Army  of  the  West,” 
under  Colonel  Kearney,  consisting  of  eighteen  hundred 
men,  was  concentrated  near  Bent's  Fort  on  the  Arkansas. 
The  Secretary  of  War,  William  L.  Marcy,  had  given  him 
instructions  to  take  possession  of  New  Mexico  and  Upper 
California,  to  establish  therein  temporary  civil  govern- 
ments, to  make  known  to  the  inhabitants  the  designs  ol 
the  United  States  to  provide  them  with  free  government, 
and  that  they  would  be  called  upon  to  elect  representa- 
tives to  their  own  territorial  Legislatures. 

The  expedition  moved  rapidly  toward  Santa  Fe,  the 
capital  of  New  Mexico.  The  population  of  that  province 
was  miscellaneous  in  its  character  ; Indians,  New  Mexi- 
cans, (a  mixture  of  Spanish  and  Indian,)  some  American 
settlers,  and  a few  of  Spanish  blood.  The  mass  of  the 
population  was  half-civilized,  by  whom  honor  and  moral- 
ity were  reckoned  of  little  worth.  They  were  cowardly, 
treacherous  and  cruel  ; ignorant  and  superstitious.  The 
Indians,  for  the  most  part,  held  the  idolatrous  notions  of 
the  ancient  Aztecs,  and  were  so  debased  that  a slight 
reward  would  insure  the  committal  of  almost  any  crime. 

The  governor,  Armigo,  a bad  man  and  a bad  ruler, 
made  an  effort  to  meet  the  invaders.  He  assembled  about 
four  thousand  men,  of  all  grades,  and,  with  six  field-pieces, 


KEARNEY  ENTERS  SANTA  FE. 


797 


took  position  in  a mountain  gorge  some  fifteen  miles  in 
advance  of  Santa  Fe  ; but  for  some  reason,  best  known  to 
himself,  he  abandoned  his  strong  post  and  rapidly  retreated 
southward,  carrying  off  his  own  property,  and  leaving  the 
people  and  the  public  interests  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

Kearney  entered  Santa  Fe  and  was  courteously  received 
by  the  lieutenant  governor,  Vigil.  The  following  day 
the  people  assembled  in  the  plaza  and  had  made  known 
to  them  the  designs  of  the  United  States  government. 
The  majority  professed  themselves  pleased  with  the  change. 
In  a few  days  the  chiefs  of  the  Pueblo  Indians  also  gave 
in  their  adhesion  to  the  new  order  of  things. 

Kearney  erected  and  garrisoned  a fort,  and  in  the 
meanwhile  made  an  excursion  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
to  the  south  to  meet  a force  which  a false  rumor  said  was 
marching  against  him.  On  his  return  he  established  a 
government,  at  the  head  of  which  he  placed  Charles  Bent, 
a worthy  citizen  of  the  territory,  as  governor.  After 
pledging  himself  to  protect  the  inhabitants  against  the 
inroads  of  the  Eutaw  and  Navajoe  Indians,  he  set  out  for 
California.  His  company  consisted  of  only  three  hun* 
dred  dragoons,  but  on  the  route,  when  near  the  river 
Gila,  he  met  a messenger — the  celebrated  guide  and  pio- 
neer Kit  Carson — who  brought  intelligence  of  what  had 
recently  taken  place  in  California  under  Stockton  and 
Fremont.  He  now  sent  back  two  companies  of  dragoons 
under  Major  Sumner,  and  continued  on  himself  with  the 
remainder. 

Thus,  within  three  months  after  the  orders  had  been 
issued  at  Washington,  a force  had  been  organized  ; a 
march  of  a thousand  miles  accomplished  ; and  territory 
subdued,  and  a new  government  established  on  appa- 
rently a stable  foundation.  A half-civilized  and  vicious 
population  are  not  fit  subjects  for  self-government,  and 
this  in  a short  time  proved  a failure.  Had  Kearney  re- 
mained to  preserve  discipline,  that  result  might  have 


CHAP 

LIIL 


1846. 


Aug. 

18. 


798 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIH. 


1846. 


Nov. 


1847. 

Jan. 

14. 


Jan. 

28 


been  different,  or  at  least  delayed.  The  town  was  filled 
with  gambling-houses,  and  grog-shops,  and  haunts  of 
every  vice,  while  the  free  manners  of  the  volunteers  ex- 
cited against  themselves  the  hatred  of  the  inhabitants, 
who  laid  their  plans  for  revenge,  and  only  waited  an  op- 
portunity to  carry  them  into  effect. 

Colonel  Kearney  gave  directions  to  Colonel  Doniphan, 
whom  he  left  at  Santa  Fe,  to  enter  the  country  of  the 
Navajoe  Indians,  living  on  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of 
California,  and  induce  them  to  make  peace.  Doniphan, 
with  a thousand  Missouri  volunteers,  in  three  divisions 
and  by  as  many  routes,  entered  the  territory  of  the  hostile 
tribe,  and  obtained  from  them  a treaty,  by  which  they 
agreed  to  refrain  from  depredations  upon  the  people  of 
New  Mexico.  This  march,  so  remarkable,  was  made  in  the 
winter,  across  mountains  covered  with  snow,  and  through 
an  unknown  region  inhabited  by  barbarous  tribes.  Doni- 
phan delayed  but  a short  time  in  negotiating  with  the 
Indians,  then  he  passed  on  to  the  south-east  to  meet  Gen- 
eral Wool  at  Chihuahua. 

The  absence  of  so  many  men  with  Doniphan  afforded 
the  looked-for  opportunity  to  commence  an  insurrection 
in  New  Mexico.  The  plot  was  deep  laid  and  kept  a pro- 
found secret.  Suddenly  Governor  Bent  was  murdered, 
with  five  other  officers  of  the  territory,  some  of  whom 
were  Mexicans,  at  Taos,  fifty  miles  north  of  Santa  Fe. 
The  same  day  witnessed  the  murder  of  many  others  in 
the  upper  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande. 

Colonel  Price,  of  the  Missouri  mounted  volunteers,  was 
at  Santa  Fe  with  the  main  force,  while  detachments  were 
scattered  over  the  country  grazing  their  horses  on  the 
plains.  With  only  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  Price 
hastened  to  meet  the  insurgents,  in  the  valley  of  Taos. 
They,  numbering  about  fifteen  hundred,  took  position  in  a 


Doniphan’s  expedition. 


799 


pass  of  the  road  through  the  highlands.  Price  routed 
them  and  continued  his  march  up  the  valley  ; hut  the 
insurgents  made  a stand  at  another  pass,  still  stronger  by 
nature,  so  narrow  that  three  men  could  scarcely  march 
abreast,  while  it  was  protected  by  rugged  mountains 
covered  with  cedars  growing  in  the  crevices  of  the  rocks. 
An  advance  party  clambered  up  through  the  cedars,  and 
the  terrified  Mexicans  took  to  flight. 

Their  principal  place  of  defence  was  taken  in  a few 
days,  and  the  rebellion  suppressed.  Peace  was  promised 
only  on  the  condition  that  the  ringleaders  should  be  given 
up  : this  was  complied  with,  and  several  of  them  were 
hanged  at  San  Fernando  : a hard  fate  for  those  who 
were  fighting  against  the  invaders  of  their  country. 

Colonel  Doniphan,  accompanied  by  a large  number  of 
merchant  wagons,  crossed  without  loss  a region  destitute 
of  water  or  grass — a desert  ninety  miles  in  extent,  known 
as  the  Jornada  del  Muerto,  or  Journey  of  Death — the 
road  marked  by  the  graves  of  former  travellers  and  the 
bones  of  beasts  of  burden.  In  one  instance  his  men  and 
animals  nearly  gave  out  from  thirst,  when  providentially 
a rain  relieved  them  ; a remarkable  occurrence  in  itself, 
as  at  that  season  of  the  year  rain  seldom  falls  in  that 
region. 

He  learned  that  the  Mexicans,  under  General  Her- 
redia,  who  commanded  in  the  North-western  Department, 
were  awaiting  his  approach  ; nothing  daunted  he  dashed 
on.  His  force,  including  merchants,  numbered  but  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-six  effective  men,  nearly  all  back- 
woodsmen ; all  mounted,  armed  with  rifles,  and  good 
marksmen  ; untrammelled  by  discipline,  each  one  fought 
as  he  listed.  Near  Brazito,  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  they  dismounted  and  were  scattered  seeking 
wood  and  water,  when  the  scouts  brought  word  that  the 
Mexicans  were  approaching.  The  alarm  was  sounded  ; 


CHAP. 

LIII. 


1847. 


184ft 

Dec. 

26. 


800 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


all  flew  to  arms,  and  amid  a din  of  shouts  fell  into  ranks 
as  best  they  could.  The  Mexicans — more  than  twelve 

1846.  hundred  strong,  and  with  a piece  of  artillery — drew  near  ; 
an  officer  bearing  a black  flag  made  his  appearance,  and 
in  a magniloquent  speech,  declaring  that  no  quarter  would 
be  given,  summoned  the  Missourians  to  surrender.  Doni- 
phan's answer  was  characteristic  and  defiant. 

The  Mexican  cavalry  extended  far  to  the  right  and 
left,  while  the  infantry,  firing  volleys  of  musketry,  ad- 
vanced in  front.  Presently  they  came  within  rifle  range, 

J J 0 7 

and  the  backwoodsmen  threw  away  scarcely  a shot.  The 
whole  body  of  the  enemy  broke  and  fled — they  lost  nearly 
two  hundred  men,  killed  and  wounded,  in  a few  minutes. 
Only  seven  Americans  were  wounded. 

Two  days  later  Doniphan  entered  the  beautiful  vil- 
lage of  El  Paso,  £<  where  a neat  cultivation,  a comfort- 
able people,  fields,  orchards,  and  vineyards,  and  a 
hospitable  reception,  offered  the  rest  and  refreshment 
which  toils,  and  dangers,  and  victory  had  won."  There 

1847.  he  waited  till  artillery  could  join  him  from  Santa  Fe,  and 
then  commenced  bis  march  upon  Chihuahua. 

The  Mexicans  kept  out  of  the  way  ; but  after  a march 
of  nineteen  days  it  was  ascertained  that  they  had  takeD 
position  at  a pass  of  the  Sacramento,  a small  branch  of 
the  Rio  Grande.  Here  General  Herredia  made  a stand 
with  a force  of  four  thousand  men,  protected  by  intrench- 
ments  across  the  .pass,  and  on  the  neighboring  hills,  but 
defences  were  of  little  avail  against  men  who  never 
hesitated  to  attack  an  enemy.  Doniphan  suddenly 
diverted  bis  route  from  the  main  road,  forced  his  way 
round  to  the  flank  of  their  advance,  and  before  the  Mexi- 
cans could  bring  their  guns  to  bear,  he  was  in  full  play 
upon  them  with  his  own  artillery.  Their  cavalry  as  well 
as  artillery,  fell  back  and  retired  across  the  river.  Now 
the  intrenchments  were  to  be  forced ; this  was  done  in 
true  backwoods  style.  Each  man  rushed  on  and  fought 


DONIPHAN  TAKES  POSSESSION  OF  CHIHUAHUA. 


801 


on  his  own  responsibility  ; some  rode  along  the  entrench- 

ments  seeking  a place  to  enter,  while  others  dismounted  

and  crept  up  to  pick  off  their  defenders.  The  Mexicans  1847. 
fled  from  the  presence  of  their  assailants,  who  leaped  over  28. 
the  works  and  secured  every  place  within  reach.  Mean- 
while a party  of  mounted  volunteers  crossed  the  river  to 
storm,  on  horseback,  a battery  which  crowned  the  hill  on 
the  opposite  side.  This  singular  engagement  cost  the 
Mexicans  three  hundred  killed  and  a greater  number 
wounded,  while  the  Missourians  lost  but  one  killed,  one 
mortally  wounded,  and  a few  disabled.  The  enemy,  com- 
pletely routed,  abandoned  every  thing  ; the  officers  fled 
toward  the  south,  and  the  common  soldiers  to  the  moun- 
tains. 

The  following  day  Doniphan,  without  opposition, 
entered  Chihuahua — a city  of  nearly  thirty  thousand  in- 
habitants— raised  the  American  flag  on  its  citadel,  and,  in 
the  name  of  his  government,  took  possession  of  the  pro-  Mar. 
vince.  He  was  in  a very  perilous  situation,  with  only  a 
thousand  men,  from  among  whom  almost  every  vestige 
of  discipline  had  vanished.  In  this  city  were  many 
American  merchants,  most  of  whom  were  wealthy. 
Doniphan's  measures  were  prudent  and  just,  and  they 
conciliated  the  inhabitants. 

On  the  27th  of  April  he  set  out  for  Saltillo,  where  he  April 
arrived  in  a month  without  opposition,  except  from  a few 
Indians.  From  Saltillo  he  marched  to  Matamoras  ; and 
as  the  term  of  his  men  was  about  to  expire,  they  were 
taken  to  New  Orleans  and  there  discharged. 

The  most  remarkable  expedition  on  record.  They  had 
passed  over  nearly  five  thousand  miles,  three  thousand  of 
which  was  a march  through  an  unknown  and  hostile 
country  swarming  with  foes.  They  returned  in  one  year  ; 
no  body  of  troops  had  ever  in  so  short  a time  passed  over 
so  much  space  or  surmounted  so  many  obstacles. 

Fremont  was  the  military  commandant  of  California, 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


S02 


CHAP. 

Lin. 


1847. 

Aug. 


Dec. 


Jan 

8. 


under  a C(  mmission  from  Commodore  Stockton.  Soon 
after  the  Commodore  sailed  from  San  Francisco  to  Mon- 
terey, and  thence  to  San  Diego.  The  recently  established 
government  was  placed  in  peril  ; a deep  laid  plot  was  in 
train,  and  only  a favorable  opportunity  was  wanting  to 
commence  the  insurrection.  Fremont,  by  a rapid  and 
secret  march  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  surprised 
and  captured  the  main  leader  of  the  insurgents,  Don  J. 
Pico,  who  had  been  a prisoner,  and  had  violated  his 
parole.  A court  martial  sentenced  him  to  death.  Fre- 
mont remitted  the  sentence,  and  thus  won  Pico's  influence 
and  aid  in  tranquilizing  the  country.  He  also  endeavored 
to  conciliate  the  inhabitants,  and  made  no  attack  upon 
the  hostile  parties,  which  hovered  around  his  march.  He 
came  up  with  the  main  Mexican  force,  under  Don  An- 
dreas Pico,  brother  of  the  one  who  n he  had  just  pardoned. 
He  sent  them  a summons  to  surrender,  and  they  agreed 
to  deliver  up  their  artillery  and  promised  to  return  to 
their  homes.  They  were  not  required  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance,  until  a treaty  of  peace  should  he  concluded 
between  the  United  States  and  Mexico. 

Commodore  Stockton  now  learned  of  the  approach  of 
General  Kearney.  The  latter  had  experienced  great 
difficulties  on  his  march  ; attacked  by  the  enemy,  he  was 
placed  in  desperate  circumstances  at  San  Pasqual ; his 
provisions  gone,  his  horses  dead,  his  mules  disabled,  and 
most  of  his  men  sick,  while  the  enemy  in  great  numbers 
completely  surrounded  his  camp  and  held  possession  of  all 
the  roads.  Three  brave  men — Kit  Carson,  Lieutenant 
Beales,  of  the  Navy,  and  an  Indian — volunteered  to  find 
their  way  to  San  Diego,  thirty  miles  distant,  and  inform 
Commodore  Stockton  of  Kearney's  peril.  The  Commo- 
dore promptly  sent  assistance,  at  whose  appearance  the 
enemy  retired  and  Kearney  was  enabled  to  reach  San 
Diego. 

A month  later  took  place  the  battle  at  the  river  San 


INSURRECTION  QUELLED. 


803 


Gabriel.  Then  General  Flores,  chief  of  the  insurgents, 
sent  a flag  of  truce,  proposing  a cessation  of  hostilities  in 
California,  and  to  let  the  sovereignty  of  the  territory  be 
determined  by  the  result  of  the  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico.  Stockton  refused  to  accede  to  the 
request,  and  continued  his  march.  Another  flag  of  truce 
came  in.  Now  it  was  offered  to  surrender  the  town  of 
Los  Angeles,  if  the  rights  of  the  people  and  their  property 
should  he  preserved.  On  these  conditions  the  capital  of 
Upper  California  was  surrendered  a second  time,  and  the 
possession  of  the  country  more  firmly  established  than 
before  the  insurrection. 

Difficulties  now  arose  among  the  officers  in  relation  to 
the  question  who  should  be  governor.  But  recent  orders 
from  Washington  relieved  Stockton  of  his  civil  functions, 
which  devolved  upon  General  Kearney  as  he  happened  to 
be  on  the  ground.  In  truth,  the  civil  government  was 
only  in  name  beyond  the  range  of  the  American  cannon. 

Fremont,  however,  refused  to  recognize  the  authority 
of  Kearney,  and  was  brought  to  trial  charged  with  diso- 
bedience of  orders  and  mutiny.  The  court  found  him 
guilty  and  sentenced  him  to  be  dismissed  from  the  ser- 
vice. The  President  did  not  approve  of  all  the  findings 
of  the  court ; but,  because  of  “ the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  the  case  and  his  previous  meritorious  and  valuable  ser- 
vices/' remitted  the  sentence  and  restored  him  to  his  rank 
in  the  army.  Fremont  would  not  accept  the  clemency 
of  the  President,  and  thus  admit  that  the  proceedings  of 
the  court  were  just  ; he  at  once  resigned  his  commission. 
In  a few  weeks  he  set  out  at  his  own  expense  on  his  fourth 
tour  of  exploration  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


CHAP. 

LIIL 

1848, 


Mar 


CHAPTER  LIY 

POLK’S  ADMINISTRATION— CONCLUDED. 

Movement  of  Troops. — Vera  Cruz  invested. — Its  Bombardment  and  Capitu- 
lation.— Santa  Anna’s  Energy. — Battle  of  Cerro  Gordo. — General  Scott 
at  Puebla. — His  Misunderstandings  with  the  Authorities  at  Washing- 
ton.— Commissioner  Trist. — Dissensions  in  Mexico. — Scott’s  Manifesto. 
— Reinforcements. — Advance  upon  the  Capital. — El  Penon  turned. — 
Battle  of  Contreras  ; of  Cherubusco. — Attempts  to  obtain  Peace. — 
Conflict  of  Molino  del  Rey. — The  Castle  of  Chapultepec  captured. — The 
American  Army  enters  the  City. — Santa  Anna  again  in  the  Field ; dis- 
missed from  the  Mexican  Service. — Treaty  of  Peace. — Its  Conditions.- 
Evacuation  of  Mexico. — Misunderstanding  among  the  American  Officers. 
— Discovery  of  Gold  in  California. — The  Effects. — Death  of  John 
Quincy  Adams. — The  Wilmot  Proviso. — The  Presidential  Election. 


chap.  While  these  events  were  in  progress,  plans  were  formed 
LIV'  and  partially  executed  to  invade  Mexico  from  the  east  ; 
1846.  to  secure  Yera  Cruz,  the  best  harbor  on  the  coast,  and 
then,  if  peace  could  not  be  obtained,  to  march  upon  the 
capital  itself. 

Numerous  delays  impeded  operations,  and  it  was  near 
the  end  of  November  before  General  Scott  left  Washing- 
ton for  the  seat  of  war.  The  quarter-master,  General 
Jessup,  was  already  at  New  Orleans  preparing  transports 
for  the  troops  ; and  communications  were  held  with  Com- 
modore Connor  in  relation  to  the  co-operation  of  the  fleet. 
The  troops,  as  already  mentioned,  drawn  from  Taylor's 
command,  were  speedily  concentrated  at  convenient  points 
on  the  coast,  but  the  want  of  transports  prevented  their 
embarkation.  The  place  of  rendezvous  was  at  the  island 


VERA  CRUZ  INVESTED. 


805 


of  Lobos,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  north 
of  Vera  Cruz.  At  length  the  transports  were  ready,  the 
troops,  about  twelve  thousand  strong,  embarked,  and,  on 
the  morning  of  the  9th  of  March,  began  to  land  near 
Yera  Cruz.  No  enemy  appeared  to  dispute  the  move- 
ment. 

That  city  contained  about  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants. 
It  was  protected  on  its  land  side  by  numerous  defences, 
while  on  the  side  of  the  Gulf,  upon  a reef,  stood  the 
Castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa,  garrisoned  by  a thousand 
men,  who  manned  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  heavy 
guns  ; the  strongest  fortification  on  the  continent,  with 
the  exception  of  Quebec. 

The  next  morning  General  Worth  was  ordered  to  com- 
mence the  line  of  investment,  which  extended  nearly  six 
miles.  The  Mexicans  appeared  to  oppose,  but  a few 
shots  from  the  cannon  dispersed  them.  The  weather  was 
excessively  hot  and  sultry,  and  the  march  through  the 
deep  sand  laborious  and  tedious. 

The  Governor  of  the  State  of  Yera  Cruz  now  issued  a 
proclamation,  calling  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  to 
defend  themselves,  while  he  should  retire  to  harass  the 
invaders  and  cut  off  their  supplies.  He  soon  appeared 
among  the  sand  hills,  but  after  a short  skirmish,  he 
thought  it  prudent  to  keep  out  of  sight.  The  cannonad- 
ing from  the  town  and  castle  was  incessant,  but  without 
much  execution,  owing  to  the  distance.  The  men  kept 
close  in  their  trenches  and  did  not  reply.  The  munitions 
which  had  recently  arrived  were  now  landed,  and  the 
Americans  were  ready  to  commence  the  bombardment. 
General  Scott  summoned  the  city  to  surrender,  stipulating, 
in  order  to  save  the  lives  and  property  of  the  inhabitants, 
that  no  batteries  should  be  placed  in  the  town  to  attack 
the  Castle,  unless  the  latter  fired  upon  the  Americans. 
General  Morales,  the  commander  of  both  the  city  and 
castle  refused  to  comply  with  the  summons. 


CHAP 

LIV. 


11 47. 


806 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP 

LIT. 


1847. 

Mar. 

22. 


At  4 o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  bombardment  com- 
menced. The  Mexicans  replied  with  every  gun  and 
mortar  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  from  the  city  and 
castle.  Some  of  the  smaller  American  vessels  crept  near 
and  with  their  heavy  guns  added  to  the  uproar  ; thus 
through  the  night  the  contest  lasted.  Other  guns  were 
brought,  and  other  batteries  erected  within  a thousand 
yards  of  the  devoted  city.  They  were  hidden  behind  the 
chaparral  ; this  was  cleared  away,  and  revealed  to  the 
besieged  a new  foe — the  battery  of  Paixhan  guns.  Their 
astonishment  was  great ; upon  this  new  enemy  who  had 
dared  to  take  position  so  near,  they  resolutely  directed  all 
their  force  for  many  hours.  They  fired  rapidly  and  with 
precision,  but  failed  to  silence  this  battery. 

How  terrific  was  this  storm  ! Twenty-one  heavy 
guns  pouring  forth  an  incessant  stream  of  balls  and  shells  ; 
the  heavy  shot  broke  through  the  solid  walls  and  crashed 
through  the  houses,  while  the  shells,  still  more  terrible, 
scattered  ruin  and  death  in  the  streets,  and  burned  every 
building  that  would  burn.  With  scarcely  any  intermis- 
sion, for  four  days  this  horrid  work  continued.  The  in- 
habitants, to  be  out  of  range,  left  their  homes,  and  help- 
lessly crowded  upon  the  mole  at  the  north  part  of  the 
town,  but  ere  long  the  balls  began  to  come  nearer  and 
nearer.  For  twelve  days  the  town  had  been  invested,  and 
its  provisions  were  now  nearly  exhausted.  The  foreign 
residents  implored  their  consuls  to  aid  them.  The  latter 
obtained  permission  of  Morales  to  send  a flag  of  truce  to 
General  Scott.  They  asked  a cessation  of  hostilities  till 
the  foreigners,  with  their  families,  and  the  Mexican 
women  and  children  could  leave  the  place.  The  request 
was  properly  refused,  on  the  ground  that  permission  had 
once  been  offered  the  foreign  residents  to  leave  the  town, 
and  that  the  petition  to  receive  attention  must  come 
from  the  Mexican  governor. 

The  American  batteries  re-opened  as  soon  as  the  flag 


VEKA  CKUZ  CAPITULATES — MARCH  ON  JALAPA. 


807 


entered  the  city,  and  continued  during  the  night.  At  ^hap. 

break  of  day  another  flag  was  seen  approaching.  The  _ 

firing  ceased.  Negotiations  commenced,  and  were  ter-  1847. 
minated  by  the  surrender  of  Vera  Cruz,  the  Castle,  the 
armaments  and  stores  of  each,  and  the  soldiers  as  prison- 
ers of  war.  These  terms  were  agreed  to  by  General  Scott 
and  Commodore  Perry,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
squadron.  The  soldiers  were  to  march  out,  with  the 
honors  of  war,  lay  down  their  arms  and  be  dismissed  on  Mar. 
their  parole.  The  inhabitants  were  guaranteed  in  their  29‘ 
civil  and  religious  rights. 

General  Worth  was  appointed  governor  of  Vera  Cruz.  APril 
The  advance  division,  under  General  Twiggs,  soon  com- 
menced the  march  for  the  city  of  Mexico  by  way  of  Jalapa. 

The  whole  army  amounted  to  only  eight  thousand  five 
hundred  men,  but  there  preceded  them  an  influence,  that 
threw  a shadow  of  despondency  over  the  minds  of  the 
Mexicans. 

Santa  Anna  had  been  very  active  since  his  defeat  at 
Buena  Vista,  (which  he  labored  hard  to  prove  to  his 
countrymen  was  not  a defeat  at  all  ; he  only  retreated  for 
want  of  provisions,)  in  collecting  another  army,  and  he 
had  already  arrived  with  twelve  thousand  men  at  Cerro 
Gordo,  a mountain  pass  at  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Cor- 
dilleras. In  the  midst  of  revolutions  and  distractions,  he 
marched  to  this,  the  first  of  the  “ Thermopylaes,”  which 
he  promised  his  countrymen  to  defend.  Within  two 
months  after  a disastrous  defeat,  without  money,  without 
the  prestige  of  success,  he  had  quelled  an  insurrection  and 
established  his  own  power,  raised  an  army,  portions  of 
which  had  marched  from  three  hundred  to  six  hundred 
miles  ; had  constructed  the  fortifications  at  Cerro  Gordo, 
and  made  a ditch  twelve  miles  long  to  supply  the  camp 
with  watei. 


80  8 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIY. 


1847. 

April 

18. 


The  positions  of  the  Mexicans  were  reconnoitred,  and 
the  attack  commenced  by  the  division  under  General 
Twiggs,  sent  to  turn  their  position.  Presently  the  whole 
front  was  assailed.  The  Americans  seized  another  hill, 
El  Telegrapho,  up  the  sides  of  which  they  dragged  heavy 
cannon,  and  began  to  play  upon  the  defences  of  Cerro 
Gordo.  The  Mexicans  replied  with  great  vigor.  During 
this  mutual  cannonade,  Colonel  Harney  led  his  men  rapidly 
down  into  the  valley  between  the  hills,  and  began  to  ascend 
the  slope  toward  the  defences  on  the  top.  The  declivity 
was  steep  and  rugged,  and  soon  the  entire  fire  of  the  battery 
was  directed  against  these  new  assailants,  but  fortunately 
the  balls  for  the  most  part  passed  over  their  heads.  But 
without  wavering  they  pressed  up,  carried  one  breastwork 
after  another,  until  they  presented  themselves  at  the  last, 
the  strongest  on  the  summit.  Santa  Anna,  a short  hour 
before,  had  ordered  General  Yasquez  to  defend  this  post 
to  the  last  extremity,  and  he  bravely  stood  his  ground, 
and  fell  while  encouraging  his  men  ; confusion  ensued, 
and  the  struggle  was  soon  ended.  The  Americans  poured 
in  a stream  of  balls,  forced  their  way  through  the  breast- 
work, and  then  charged  with  the  bayonet.  The  garrison 
fled  down  the  western  slope  in  the  direction  of  Jalapa. 
Twiggs  had  passed  round  the  hill,  their  retreat  was  cut  ofl 
and  they  made  prisoners.  At  this  moment  Santa  Anna 
returned.  He  was  enraged  beyond  bounds  at  seeing  the 
discomfiture  of  his  troops  in  a position  which  he  was  cer- 
tain could  have  been  maintained.  He  ordered  General 
Canalizo  to  charge  up  the  hill  and  re-capture  Cerro  Gordo  ; 
the  latter  absolutely  refused  to  obey,  but  led  off  his 
cavalry.  Then  Santa  Anna  mounted  a mule  taken  from 
his  carriage,  and  fled,  leaving  as  trophies  to  his  enemies 
his  travelling  equipage  and  his  private  papers. 

The  Mexican  army  was  annihilated  and  scattered  ir 
all  directions  ; they  had  lost  more  than  a thousand  men, 
killed  and  wounded,  three  thousand  prisoners,  five 


THE  VOLUNTEERS  RETURN  HOME. 


809 


generals,  all  their  artillery  and  military  stores.  This  was 
not  obtained  without  a severe  loss  to  the  invaders,  who, 
in  their  rash  and  headlong  charges  in  the  face  of  batteries, 
and  well  protected  musketeers,  had  lost  four  hundred  and 
thirty-one,  killed  and  wounded,  of  whom  thirty-three  were 
officers. 

Possession  was  taken  of  Jalapa,  three  days  later  of 
Perote,  a stronghold  on  the  summit  of  the  Cordilleras, 
which  was  abandoned  almost  without  a struggle,  and 
then  of  the  city  of  Puebla — containing  eighty  thousand 
inhabitants.  At  the  latter  city  General  Scott  established 
his  head-quarters. 

The  volunteers'  term  of  enlistments  would  expire  in 
one  month.  They  refused  to  re-enlist,  but  urged  that 
they  should  be  permitted  to  return  to  the  United  States, 
and  there  be  disbanded,  rather  than  on  the  soil  of  Mexico. 
They  greatly  dreaded  the  vomito,  or  yellow  fever,  as  the 
season  in  which  it  was  most  severe  was  near  at  hand. 
Though  they  had  no  claims  to  be  thus  dismissed,  General 
Scott  indulged  them,  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  secure 
the  capital,  if  the  volunteers  insisted  on  returning  home 
at  the  end  of  their  term  of  enlistments.  Thus  situated 
he  was  forced  to  remain  inactive  three  months,  till  re-in- 
forcements  arrived  from  the  United  States. 

During  this  interval  several  circumstances  occurred 
which  embarrassed  the  General-in-Chiefs  movements  as 
well  as  disturbed  his  equanimity.  First  was  the  effort 
made,  as  he  thought,  to  degrade  him  from  his  position  in 
the  army.  This  was  to  be  accomplished  by  appointing 
over  him  a Lieutenant-General,  a rank  never  held  in  the 
service  except  by  Washington.  The  measure  failed  to 
pass  the  Senate.  The  same  end  was  apparently  aimed  at 
in  another  measure  by  which  power  was  given  the  Presi- 
dent to  appoint  officers  to  any  position  in  the  army,, 
without  regard  to  their  previous  rank. 


CHAP. 

LIV. 


1847 


April 

19. 


May 

15. 


Aug. 

15 


810 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIT. 


1847. 


Instead  of  money  to  buy  provisions,  came  an  order 
from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  authorize  the  collection  oi 
duties  ievied  on  merchandise  entering  the  Mexican  ports. 
In  the  same  communication  was  another  order  to  levy 
contributions  upon  the  Mexican  people.  This  Scott  ab- 
solutely refused  to  obey,  as  General  Taylor  had  also  done, 
giving  as  a reason  the  poverty  of  that  part  of  the  country. 
Says  Scott  in  a letter  to  the  Secretary  : “ If  it  is  expected 
at  Washington,  as  is  now  apprehended,  that  this  army  is 
to  support  itself  by  forced  contributions  upon  the  country, 
we  may  ruin  and  exasperate  the  inhabitants  and  starve 
ourselves  ; for  it  is  certain  they  would  sooner  remove  or 
destroy  the  products  of  their  farms,  than  allow  them  to 
fall  into  our  hands  without  compensation.  Not  a ration 
for  man  or  horse  would  be  brought  in  except  by  the 
bayonet,  which  would  oblige  the  troops  to  spread  them- 
selves out  many  leagues  to  the  right  and  left  in  search  of 
subsistence,  and  stop  all  military  operations.”  1 And  he 
continued  to  buy  provisions  for  the  army  at  the  regular 
prices  of  the  country,  and  thus  did  much  to  allay  a rising 
feeling  of  hatred  toward  the  Americans. 

The  Secretary  had  given  as  a reason  for  this  order, 
that  the  Mexican  people  thus  laid  under  contribution, 
and  compelled  to  bear  the  expenses  of  the  war,  would  soon 
become  willing  to  conclude  a treaty  of  peace.  This  might 
apply  to  the  public  revenues,  and  that  part  of  the  order 
the  General  took  measures  to  have  complied  with. 

Other  difficulties  arose.  After  the  capture  of  Vera 
Cruz  General  Scott  suggested  to  the  President  the  send- 
ing of  commissioners  to  head-quarters  to  treat  for  peace, 
should  an  opportunity  occur.  For  this  important  duty, 
the  president  appointed  Mr.  N.  P.  Trist,  whose  qualifica- 
tions were  that  he  had  been  Consul  at  Havana,  could 


1 Gen.  Scott’s  letter  to  the  Sec.  of  War,  as  quoted  by  Ripley,  Yol.  ii.,  p.  95. 


INSTRUCTIONS  OF  COMMISSIONER  TRIST. 


811 


speak  Spanish  and  professed  to  understand  the  Mexican 
character,  his  skill  as  a diplomatist  could  be  inferred  only 
from  the  fact  that  he  was  “ Chief  Clerk  ” in  the  State 
Department.  Having  in  his  possession  the  draft  of  a 
treaty  fully  drawn  out  at  the  department  of  State,  he  left 
Washington  and  arrived  at  Vera  Cruz.  He  also  bore  a 
despatch  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Buchanan,  to 
the  Mexican  Minister  of  Foreign  Delations.  The  plan  of 
the  treaty  and  his  instructions  he  was  directed  to  make 
known  confidentially  both  to  General  Scott  and  Commo- 
dore Perry.  The  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Marcy,  wrote  to 
the  General-in-Chief,  informing  him  of  the  mission,  but  in 
general  terms,  and  directed  him  to  suspend  active  mili- 
tary operations  till  further  orders,  unless  he  was  attacked. 

Instead  of  making  known  to  General  Scott  the  designs 
of  his  mission  as  directed,  Mr.  Trist  sent  a short  note  to 
head-quarters  from  Vera  Cruz,  and  transmitted  the  sealed 
despatch  to  be  forwarded  to  the  Mexican  Minister,  and 
the  letter  from  Secretary  Marcy  ; the  latter  could  not  be 
understood  without  the  explanations  which  Mr.  Trist 
alone  could  give.  The  general  could  only  see  in  this  an 
underhand  attempt  to  degrade  him  by  making  him  in 
some  way  subordinate  to  the  u Chief  Clerk."  However, 
in  a few  days  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Trist,  what  he  knew  of  the 
views  of  the  Mexican  people  and  government  in  relation 
to  a treaty  of  peace,  to  which  at  present  they  were  op- 
posed. In  conclusion,  he  remarked,  that  the  suspension  of 
hostilities  belonged  properly  to  the  military  commander 
on  the  field,  and  not  to  a Secretary  of  War  a thousand 
miles  distant. 

In  reply  Trist  gave  full  explanation  of  his  mission,  but 
in  disrespectful  and  arrogant  terms,  assumed  to  be  the 
aide-de-camp  of  the  President,  and  in  that  capacity  to 
order  the  General-in-Chief. 1 This  correspondence  led  to 


CHAP. 

LIV. 


1847. 


May, 


1 Ripley’s  War  with  Mexico,  Vol.  ii.,  pp.  100,  147. 


812 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIY. 


1847. 


much  harsh  feeling  and  retarded  the  advancement  of  the 
cause.  At  length  explanations  in  relation  to  the  com- 
missioner of  peace  came  to  the  general  from  the  authori- 
ties at  Washington.  The  Secretary  of  State  severely 
censured  Mr.  Trist  u for  his  presuming  to  command  the 
General-in-Chief.” 

Santa  Anna  fled  from  Cerro  Gordo  to  Orizaba,  where 
he  remained  some  time  to  organize  bands  of  guerillas  to 
harass  the  American  trains,  which  would  be  on  their 
way  from  Yera  Cruz.  Afterward  he  returned  to  Mexico 
to  find  his  popularity  on  the  wane.  For  a time  the  Mexi- 
cans were  paralyzed  with  consternation.  Their  army  on 
which  they  had  depended  so  much  had  been  totally  routed 
at  Cerro  Gordo.  The  invincible  enemy  was  pressing  on  ; 
not  a harrier  intervened  between  them  and  the  capital. 
The  city  was  filled  with  factions  ; the  national  councils 
were  divided  ; ambitious  men  forgot  their  patriotism  in 
their  desire  for  self-aggrandizement.  The  treasury  was 
bankrupt,  its  only  resource  forced  loans.  Yet  in  the  face 
of  all  these  difficulties,  Santa  Anna  did  succeed  in  raising 
an  army  of  twent}^-five  thousand  men  with  sixty  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  in  having  the  city  fortified.  After  all  he 
was  the  best  commander  the  nation  could  afford,  and  the 
soldiers  once  more  put  themselves  under  his  direction,  to 
repel  the  invaders  of  their  country  and  their  sacred  homes. 
They  did  not  flock  to  his  standard  from  a prestige  of  vic- 
tory, for  even  when  his  boasts  were  still  ringing  in  their 
ears,  he  had  been  ignominiously  defeated  ; nor  were  they 
induced  by  the  confidence  reposed  in  the  integrity  of  a 
great  and  good  man,  to  whom,  as  if  to  a superior  being, 
the  multitude  turn  in  timer  of  great  peril ; but  from  sheer 
necessity. 

Santa  Anna  understood  the  Mexican  character.  By 
intrigue  and  the  exercise  of  a vigorous  arm,  he  seized 
property,  and  imprisoned  or  banished  his  opponents  ; by  pre- 


PROCLAMATION  TO  THE  MEXICAN  PEOPLE. 


tending  to  be  desirous  of  peace  be  gained  time,  and  dis- 

honestly  entered  upon  negotiations  ; offered  himself  to  be  . 

bribed,  and  was  accepted.  His  plans  were  cunningly  de-  1847. 
vised  : if  they  succeeded,  the  glory  would  all  redound  to 
his  name  ; if  they  failed,  the  censure  could  be  thrown 
upon  others. 

Thus  he  employed  the  three  months  that  General 
Scott  was  forced  to  wait  for  the  arrival  of  reinforcements. 

Had  the  volunteers  consented  to  remain  in  the  service  six 
months  longer,  in  all  probability  the  capture  of  Mexico 
and  a treaty  of  peace  would  have  ended  the  campaign, 
and  the  blood  spared  which  was  shed  in  such  profusion  in 
the  subsequent  conflicts. 

When  at  Jalapa  General  Scott  issued  a proclamation  April 
to  the  people  of  Mexico.  This  manifesto,  in  its  tone  and  20, 
spirit,  was  well  adapted  to  the  state  of  affairs  of  the 
country,  in  showing  that  the  true  policy  of  the  Mexican 
people  was  to  conclude  a treaty  on  the  liberal  terms 
offered  by  the  government  of  the  United  States.  The 
proclamation  was  issued  at  the  instance  of  several  Mexi- 
can gentlemen  of  influence,  one  of  whom  composed  it  in 
original  Spanish,  as  it  was  dictated  by  the  general.  It 
was  well  received  by  the  people  in  the  country  ; but 
Santa  Anna  captured  a courier,  who  was  bearing  copies 
of  it  to  the  capital.  He  at  once  discovered  by  the  style 
that  it  was  not  a translation,  and  he  proclaimed  with  his 
usual  virtuous  indignation,  that  it  was  the  production  of 
some  Mexican  traitor,  and  thus  neutralized  its  effects  on 
the  people  of  the  city. 

At  this  time,  he  had  by  secret  agents  intimated  to 
Mr.  Trist  that  he  was  desirous  of  peace,  and  plainly  that 
money  would  be  still  more  acceptable  : if  a million  of 
dollars  were  placed  at  his  disposal  something  might  be 
done.  That  this  proposition  might  be  considered,  a re- 
conciliation  took  place  between  the  general  and  the  com-  25. 


814 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS'  PEOPLE. 


CHAP-  roissioner  ; as  neither  could  well  act  without  the  flther 

General  Pillow,  who  had  just  arrived  at  Puebla,  was  also 

1847.  admitted  to  these  conferences.  He  was  a particular 
friend  of  the  President,  and,  owing  to  the  “ informal  and 
confidential  request  ” sent  from  Washington,  this  partici- 
pation was  granted.  Communications  were  continued 
with  Santa  Anna,  but  with  no  more  important  result 
than  that  the  latter  received  ten  thousand  dollars  of  the 
secret  service  money  at  the  disposal  of  General  Scott. 

As  might  have  been  anticipated,  it  was  soon  seen  that 
Santa  Anna's  only  object  was  to  obtain  money  and  gain 
time,  and  General  Scott  made  preparations  to  advance 
upon  the  city  as  soon  as  the  reinforcements  under  Briga- 
dier-General Franklin  Pierce  would  arrive  from  Vera 
Cruz.  Meantime,  the  way  to  the  city  had  been  thoroughly 
reconnoitred,  and  General  Worth  sent  forward  with  the 
first  division.  The  whole  army  consisted  of  not  more 
than  ten  thousand  men,  as  great  numbers  had  been  left  in 
the  hospitals  at  Perote. 

The  region  through  which  they  marched  was  a high 
table  land  beautiful  in  the  extreme,  well  watered,  inter- 
spersed with  valleys  and  mountains,  whose  slopes  were 
covered  with  the  richest  verdure,  while  in  the  distance 
their  snow-capped  summits  glittered  in  the  bright  sun- 
shine of  August.  Almost  from  the  same  spot  where  more 
than  three  hundred  years  before  Cortez  and  his  followers 
viewed  the  distant  temples  of  the  city  of  Montezuma,  the 
Americans  hailed  with  cheers  the  city  of  Mexico. 

The  passes  on  the  direct  route  had  been  well  fortified, 
and  were  well  garrisoned  in  the  confident  expectation 
that  their  positions  could  not  he  turned.  The  strongest 
of  these  was  El  Penon,  to  capture  which  the  American 
engineers  stated  would  require  the  loss  of  three  thousand 
lives.  General  Scott  was  proverbially  careful  of  the  lives 
of  his  soldiers;  the  sacrifice  must  be  avoided.  The  vicinity 
of  the  city  was  reconnoitred  in  the  most  daring  manner  . 


EL  PENON  TURNED — BATTLE  OE  CONTRERAS. 


815 


and  it  was  discovered  that  the  defences  south  and  west 
were  not  so  strongly  fortified. 

The  general  diverted  his  course  to  the  left  and  turned 
El  Penon  on  the  south  side,  and  under  the  direction  of 
skilful  engineers  crossed  chasms  and  ravines  deemed  im- 
passable, and  therefore  but  imperfectly  guarded.  General 
Twiggs  led  the  advance,  and  encamped  at  Chaleo  on  the 
lake  of  the  same  name.  Worth  followed,  took  the  lead, 
and  with  his  division  halted  at  the  town  of  San  Augus- 
tin, about  eight  miles  from  the  city.  In  his  front  was 
the  strong  fortress  of  San  Antonio,  now  the  head-quarters 
of  Santa  Anna,  who  left  El  Penon,  when  he  found  that 
the  Americans  were  on  their  march  round  to  the  south 
side  of  the  city.  North-west  of  San  Antonio  and  four 
miles  from  the  city  was  the  village  of  Churubusco,  ren- 
dered strong  by  a series  of  intrenchments.  Not  far  to 
the  west  of  the  village  of  San  Augustin  was  the  fortified 
camp  of  Contreras,  which  contained  six  thousand  men  ; in 
the  rear  between  the  camp  and  the  city  were  placed  twelve 
thousand  men  in  reserve.  The  whole  number  of  Mexi- 
cans in  these  various  defences  was  about  thirty-five 
thousand,  with  nearly  one  hundred  pieces  of  artillery  of 
various  sizes. 

General  Persifer  F.  Smith  proposed  to  attack  the 
camp  at  Contreras,  which  was  under  the  command  of 
General  Valencia.  The  night  had  been  one  of  cold  rain 
and  storm  and  intense  darkness,  except  when  enlivened 
by  the  fitful  glare  of  the  lightning.  At  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  the  expedition  set  out ; the  soldiers,  lest 
they  should  become  separated  on  the  march,  were  directed 
to  take  hold  of  each  other — at  sunrise  the  conflict  com- 
menced. The  Mexicans  were  but  partially  surprised, 
still  the  impetuous  attack  effectually  routed  them  ; three 
thousand  of  their  number  were  made  prisoners,  eighty 
officers  and  thirty-five  pieces  of  artillery.  Among  the 
latter  were  two  pieces  taken  at  Buena  Vista,  now  recap- 


CHAP 

LIV. 


1847. 


Aug. 

17. 


Aug, 

19. 


816 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIY. 


1847. 


tured  by  a portion  of  tne  regiment  to  which  they  originally 
belonged.  Thus  commenced  this  eventful  day — severer 
conflicts  were  yet  to  come. 

Generals  Shields  and  Pierce  had,  during  the  night, 
thrown  their  divisions  between  Santa  Anna  and  Contreras. 
The  fugitives  from  the  latter  place  had  fled  to  Churu- 
busco,  and  there  fresh  troops  had  also  arrived  from  the 
city  ; it  seemed  from  the  preparations,  that  here  a des- 
perate defence  was  to  be  made. 

A convent,  a very  strong  stone  building,  was  well  for- 
tified and  pierced  for  muskets  and  cannon,  also  the  head 
of  the  bridge  over  the  river  was  well  defended. 

In  an  hour  or  two  General  Scott  arrived  ; as  he  rode 
along  through  the  army  he  was  received  with  hearty  cheers. 
The  morning's  success  had  filled  the  soldiers  with  en- 
thusiasm, and  they  hoped  on  that  day  to  end  the  war. 

Santa  Anna  himself  was  busily  engaged  in  arranging 
his  men  beyond  the  Churubusco  River — whose  banks  were 
lined  with  the  maguey  plant,  which  shielded  nearly  all  his 
force  from  view. 

The  rain  of  the  previous  night  had  flooded  the  low- 
lands in  the  vicinity  ; the  fortifications  were  masked  by 
trees  and  fields  of  corn  ; the  latter  flooded,  and  every 
part  well  known  to  the  enemy,  whose  guns  were  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  sweep  them  perfectly.  When  the  Americans 
commenced  the  attack,  their  officers,  in  the  face  of  these 
batteries,  would  advance  and  reconnoitre  the  ground,  then 
the  men  would  march  up  to  that  point,  the  officers  would 
again  advance,  and  the  same  process  be  repeated.  During 
this  time  the  cannon  balls  from  the  unseen  enemy  came 
crashing  through  the  corn,  the  men  and  officers  fell  rapidly, 
yet  as  if  impelled  by  some  all  powerful  influence,  they 
moved  steadily  on  until  the  works  of  Churubusco  were  in 
their  hands. 

General  Scott  sent  round  to  the  other  side  a division 
under  General  Pillow  ; they  waded  through  the  mud  and 


BATTLE  OF  CHURUBUSCO. 


817 


water,  in  some  instances  waist  deep,  before  they  could 
reach  the  enemy.  Several  companies  were  entirely  broken 
up,  Captain  Taylor’s  artillery  men  were  cut  up,  his  horses 
killed,  when  suddenly  the  Mexicans  rushed  out  of  the 
convent  to  charge  ; but  at  this  moment  a company  of 
American  infantry  came  up  and  repulsed  the  assailants. 

The  ground  was  intersected  by  causeways,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  preserve  military  order  ; also  owing  to  their 
ignorance  of  the  position  of  the  enemy,  as  well  as  their 
own,  the  Americans  were  constantly  in  danger  of  firing 
upon  their  own  friends.  The  battle  raged  in  every  direc- 
tion. General  Worth  carried  San  Antonio,  and  General 
Twiggs  another  fortress.  The  Mexicans  fought  bravely, 
they  were  more  than  three  to  one  of  their  foes,  and  they 
made  every  effort  to  repel  them. 

For  two  hours  the  battle  had  raged.  The  smoke 
completely  enshrouded  the  position  of  the  Mexicans. 
The  roar  of  their  twenty  thousand  muskets  seemed  to 
drown  the  noise  of  the  artillery,  and  to  render  the  din  of 
the  conflict  peculiarly  terrific. 

The  Americans  could  but  feel  their  way  through  the 
corn,  and  across  causeways  and  ditches,  ignorant  at  what 
moment  they  might  come  upon  concealed  batteries.  At 
length  a party  were  enabled  to  cross  the  river  Churubusco, 
and  presented  themselves  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  at  the 
same  moment  Worth’s  division  emerged  from  the  corn- 
fields in  their  front  ; those  in  the  rear  rushed  across 
ditches  and  over  the  parapets  and  carried  the  works, 
while  the  Mexicans  at  the  head  of  the  bridge  abandoned 
it  ; their  guns  were  immediately  seized  and  turned  upon 
them.  Both  divisions  pressed  forward  with  the  bayonet, 
the  Mexicans  recoiled  in  confusion,  and  finally  fled  ; the 
dragoons  pursuing  them  to  the  very  gates  of  the  city. 

The  victory  was  won,  but  it  had  cost  the  Americans 
dear ; a thousand  had  fallen  or  been  disabled,  among 
these  were  seventy-six  officers.  The  coolness,  the  in- 


CHAP. 

LIT. 

1847. 


818 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIY. 


1847. 


Sept, 

5. 


domitable  courage  and  perseverance  of  both  men  and 
officers  were  never  better  displayed.  The  ground  was 
unknown,  and  they  were  thrown  upon  their  own  resources  ) 
there  was  no  wavering  ; each  one  performed  his  part,  and 
adapted  himself  to  the  emergency.  In  no  battle  did  the 
Mexicans  fight  better  ; they  struggled  hard,  and  the  num- 
ber of  their  slain  and  wounded  and  missing — nearly  seven 
thousand — testifies  that  they  were  brave. 

Santa  Anna  fled  to  the  city.  The  night  after  the 
battle  several  persons  connected  with  the  British  embassy 
in  Mexico  appeared  at  the  American  head-quarters,  and 
informed  General  Scott  that  the  Mexican  authorities  were 
disposed  to  conclude  a peace,  and  advised  that  the  capital 
should  not  be  assaulted,  lest  the  members  of  the  govern- 
ment should  be  dispersed,  and  leave  no  acknowledged 
authority  to  enter  upon  negotiations. 

A flag  of  truce  came  the  next  day  and  presented  the 
request  for  hostilities  to  cease  preparatory  to  negotiating 
a treaty.  In  accordance  with  this  request,  and  the  repre- 
sentations made  the  previous  evening,  Mr.  Trist  went 
to  the  capital  and  presented  his  conditions  of  peace — the 
same  drawn  up  at  Washington.  After  protracted  delays, 
evidently  designed  to  gain  time,  the  Mexican,  commis- 
sioners announced  that  they  would  not  accede  to  these 
conditions,  and  in  turn  they  proposed  others,  which  they 
well  knew  would  not  be  acceptable. 

Mr.  Trist  returned  with  this  intelligence,  and  also  that 
contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  armistice,  Santa  Anna  was 
fortifying  the  city,  and  in  other  respects  had  violated  his 
pledges. 

Indignant  at  the  continued  treachery,  General  Scott 
now  ordered  the  army  to  march  upon  the  capital. 

On  the  way  were  two  strong  positions : the  one  Molino 
del  Key,  (the  King’s  Mill,)  a foundry,  where,  it  was  said, 
the  bells  of  the  churches  were  being  rapidly  converted  into 
cannon  ) near  by  was  the  strong  castle  of  Chapultepec, 


CAPTURE  OF  MOLINO  DEL  REY. 


819 


which  could  not  he  turned,  but  must  be  taken,  before  the 
city  could  be  reached. 

It  was  resolved  to  capture  Molino  del  Key  ; and  at 
three  in  the  morning  General  Worth  sent  forward  the 
different  corps  of  his  division  to  commence  the  attack  at 
dawn  of  day.  While  it  was  yet  dark,  the  two  twenty- 
four  pounders  opened  and  sent  their  balls  through  the 
walls  of  masonry.  There  was  no  reply,  and  it  was  thought 
the  Mexicans  had  abandoned  the  building.  Instead,  they 
had  changed  their  position  during  the  night,  and  now  had 
their  guns  in  readiness  to  pour  grape  and  round  shot  upon 
the  flank  of  the  advancing  Americans.  From  the  mani- 
fest preparations,  it  is  thought,  Santa  Anna,  who  was  on 
the  ground,  knew  of  the  intended  attack.  His  advantages 
in  number  and  position  were  great,  and  when  his  guns 
opened,  their  effect  was  terrible.  In  a few  minutes  the 
front  of  the  American  advance  was  cut  down  ; of  fourteen 
officers,  eleven  were  either  killed  or  wounded,  and  a like 
proportion  of  the  men.  The  company  was  forced  to  fall 
back,  and  the  Mexicans,  as  usual,  with  savage  ferocity, 
rushed  out  and  murdered  all  the  wounded  they  could  find. 

Worth  ordered  forward  other  companies,  and  these 
were  seconded  by  another  brigade,  who  vigorously  attacked 
the  Mexican  flank.  Though  exposed  to  a cross  fire  which 
did  fearful  execution,  these  all  fought  desperately  ; it  would 
seem  that  the  idea  of  retreating  from  the  face  of  such 
overwhelming  odds,  never  occurred  to  them  ; they  held  on 
and  steadily  advanced.  # 

Presently  General  Leon  himself  headed  a strong  sortie 
from  the  Molino  del  Key,  but  it  was  driven  back;  Leon 
was  mortally  wounded,  and  several  officers  of  high  rank 
were  slain.  The  attack  was  continued  in  a desultory 
manner,  the  assailants  sought  in  various  ways  to  gain 
access  to  the  enemy  ; they  crept  along  the  sides  and  fired 
into  the  apertures,  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  building  and 
tore  down  the  walls  with  their  hands  or  pried  the  stones 


CHAP. 

LIV. 


1847. 

Sept. 

8. 


820 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CH^P-  loose  with  their  bayonets.  At  length  they  broke  through 

. the  southern  gate,  and  rushing  in  with  loud  shouts  engaged 

1847.  in  close  combat.  The  Mexicans  did  not  yield,  but  con- 
tinued to  fire  upon  them,  from  the  building  into  the 
courtyards.  The  Americans  hurst  open  door  after  door, 
reached  the  roof,  and  with  the  bayonet  met  the  enemy 
hand  to  hand.  In  a few  minutes  the  north-west  gate  was 
in  like  manner  forced.  A portion  of  the  Mexicans  held 
out  a white  flag  in  token  of  surrender,  while  others  made 
their  way  to  Chapultepec. 

This  has  been  deemed  the  hardest  contested  conflict 
of  the  entire  war.  The  enemy  were  in  numbers  three  to 
one,  and  in  a strong  position.  After  the  commencement 
of  the  attack,  the  Americans  had  scarcely  any  aid  from 
their  heavy  cannon,  but  were  forced  to  depend  upon  their 
rifles  and  muskets.  Still  they  carried  the  place,  and 
captured  eight  hundred  prisoners,  and  lost  themselves 
seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven  killed  and  wounded,  of 
whom  fifty-nine  were  officers — nearly  one-fourth  of  the 
whole  number  engaged  in  the  battle.  The  loss  of  so  many 
brave  men  shed  a gloom  over  the  entire  army. 

The  Castle  of  Chapultepec  stood  on  a high  and  preci- 
pitous hill,  very  steep  and  rocky,  on  the  south  side  toward 
the  Americans  ; on  the  west  the  slope  was  more  gradual, 
but  covered  with  dense  woods  and  rough  with  rocks. 
Here,  shielded  by  these,  was  a large  force  of  Mexicans. 

At  the  earliest  dawn  the  full  force  of  the  American 
cannon  was  concentrated  upon  the  walls  of  the  castle, 
Sept,  and  at  the  west  side,  storming  parties  were  waiting  anx- 

“JO 

iously  for  a breach  to  be  made,  by  which  they  might 
carry  it  by  assault.  They  groped  their  way  from  tree  to 
tree  and  rock  to  rock,  driving  the  Mexicans  before  them, 
when  suddenly,  on  the  crest  of  the  hill,  the  whole  force 
came  out  on  the  open  space  in  the  presence  of  ram 
parts  frowning  with  cannon  and  musketry.  They  ap- 


CASTLE  OF  CHAPULTEPEC  TAKEN. 


821 


preached  cautiously,  returning  only  a few  shots,  but  still 
drawing  nearer  and  nearer.  Presently  an  ensign  bearing 
the  standard  of  his  regiment,  rushed  forward  to  the  ram- 
part, a shout  arose,  and  a few  followed  with  ladders, 
placed  them  against  the  wall  and  with  a cheer  bounded 
over.  The  Mexicans,  taken  by  surprise,  stood  but  a few 
minutes,  then  scrambled  over  the  side  and  down  the 
precipitous  rocks  out  of  danger.  This  was  the  only  in- 
stance during  the  war  where  the  Americans  so  far  forgot 
themselves  as  not  to  cease  their  fire  at  the  submission  of 
the  foe,  and  even  now  it  continued  only  for  a few  minutes. 
Theii  provocations  had  been  great.  Only  a few  days  be- 
fore, as  on  every  other  occasion,  they  had  seen  their 
wounded  companions,  found  on  the  field  of  battle,  barba- 
rously murdered  by  the  Mexicans.  The  exulting  shouts, 
the  disregard  of  discipline,  which  continued  for  an  hour, 
only  manifested  the  deep  emotions  which  prevailed. 

The  castle  was  a mass  of  ruins  ; so  effective  had  been 
the  shots  and  shells,  that  it  was  battered  to  pieces.  Here 
had  been  the  national  military  school,  and  here  the  young 
students  had  bravely  stood  their  ground.  All  of  their 
number,  who  were  not  slain,  were  taken  prisoners,  with  the 
aged  General  Bravo  their  commander. 

While  the  conflict  was  in  progress  General  Quitman 
was  engaged  in  capturing  the  defences  thrown  over  the 
causeways  which  led  through  a marsh — a lake  in  the  days 
of  Cortez — to  the  city.  They  were  taken  in  succession  ; 
each  one  gave  more  or  less  resistance.  At  nightfall  the 
Mexicans  were  driven  within  the  city,  and  the  Americans 
held  two  of  its  gates. 

At  midnight  commissioners  came  with  propositions  of 
peace,  and  to  surrender  the  city  ; they  stated  that  Santa 
Anna  was  marching  out  with  his  army.  General  Scott 
refused  to  listen  again  to  terms  of  accommodation  ; when 
his  kindness  of  feeling  had  prompted  him  to  offer  them 
peace,  he  had  been  grossly  deceived.  The  following  morn- 


CHAP, 

LIV. 


1S47. 


822 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIV. 


1847. 

Sept. 

14. 


Sept. 

22. 


Oct 

8. 


ing,  with  six  thousand  men,  he  marched  into  the  city, 
drew  up  his  army  upon  the  great  plaza,  and  hoisted  the 
stars  and  stripes  over  the  National  Palace. 

For  several  days  the  troops  were  occasionally  fired 
upon  from  windows  and  the  tops  of  houses  ; the  work,  it 
was  said,  of  convicts,  two  thousand  of  whom  had  just  been 
liberated  ; but  stringent  measures  were  taken  to  insure 
safety. 

Santa  Anna,  with  three  or  four  thousand  troops,  had 
gone  toward  Puebla.  He  devolved  his  authority  upon 
Pena  y Pena,  the  President  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Justice.  The  other  prominent  Mexicans  went  in  different 
directions. 

Colonel  Childs  had  been  left  in  command  at  Puebla 
with  a small  garrison,  only  five  hundred  men,  to  protect 
eighteen  hundred  sick  and  disabled  American  soldiers. 
The  Mexicans,  encouraged  by  false  reports  of  success  at 
the  capital,  made  frequent  desultory  attacks  upon  the 
garrison,  but  by  great  exertions  Colonel  Childs  held  them 
at  bay  for  nine  days,  wThen  Santa  Anna,  with  a remnant 
— some  four  or  five  thousand — of  his  discomfited  army, 
appeared,  and  in  a pompous  manner  summoned  Childs  to 
surrender.  The  summons  was  disregarded.  The  Mexi- 
can chief  blockaded  the  town  for  seven  days  and  then 
marched  to  intercept  a train,  on  its  way  from  Vera  Cruz. 
General  Lane  was  in  command  of  this  convoy — troops  from 
Taylor’s  army,  composed  of  Indiana  and  Ohio  volunteers. 

Santa  Anna  took  position  at  Huamantla,  a town  some 
miles  north  of  the  main  pass  El  Pinal,  intending  to  attack 
the  Americans  when  they  should  become  entangled  in  the 
defile.  But  Lane  was  not  thus  to  be  entrapped.  He  at 
once  set  out,  surprised  Santa  Anna  himself,  and  compelled 
him,  after  some  loss,  to  abandon  the  town.  The  train 
unmolested  moved  on  the  following  day  to  Puebla,  and 
the  garrison,  after  a month's  siege,  was  relieved. 


TREATY  OF  PEACE  CONCLUDED. 


823 


Within  ten  days  it  was  ascertained  that  Santa  Anna  CHAP. 

was  concentrating  another  force  at  Alixo.  Lane,  by  a 

forced  march,  suddenly  fell  upon  them,  and  dispersed  1847. 
them  beyond  recovery.  Almost  immediately  after  his 
failure  to  prevent  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  Santa 
Anna  resigned  the  presidency  of  the  republic,  but  still 
retained  his  office  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Mexican 
armies.  Now  he  was  mortified  to  receive  a note  from 
Senor  Kosa,  the  Minister  of  War,  informing  him  that  his 
services  were  no  longer  required  by  the  government,  which 
had  just  been  inaugurated.  He  took  the  hint,  and  was 
soon  on  his  way  to  the  Gulf  Coast,  thence  to  the  W est 
Indies  to  be  ere  long  again  engaged  in  intrigues  to  disturb 
his  unfortunate  country. 

In  a few  weeks  after  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico, 
the  seat  of  government  was  removed  to  Queretaro.  Soon 
after  members  for  a new  Congress  were  elected,  and  that 
body  commenced  its  session.  At  the  town  of  Guadalupe 
Hidalgo,  commissioners  and  Mr.  Trist  were  negotiating  a 
treaty  of  peace.  It  was  concluded  on  the  2d  of  February,  1848< 
and  now  it  only  remained  to  be  ratified  by  the  authorities 
at  Washington  to  formally  close  the  war,  which,  from  the 
battle  of  Palo  Alto  to  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  1846 
had  lasted  one  year  and  five  months.  Sept. 

In  this  brief  period,  armies,  of  their  own  free  will,  had 
flocked  to  the  standard  of  their  country  ; had  been  organ- 
ized, had  marched  into  a foreign  land,  dissimilar  to  their 
own  in  climate  and  in  feature,  some  across  deserts  and 
through  districts  infected  with  direful  disease,  others  in 
mid-winter  passed  over  untrodden  mountains,  covered 
with  snow,  and  then  in  turn  over  arid  plains,  and  met 
the  enemy  in  conflict  many  hundreds  of  miles  from  their 
homes,  while  fleets  were  fitted  out,  which  swept  round 
Cape  Horn,  and  were  in  time  to  perform  their  part.  The 
rapidity  with  which  cannon  were  manufactured  and  mu- 


824 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP,  nitions  of  war  prepared  and  transported  to  the  scene  ot 

1 action,  was  astonishing. 

1847. 

During  the  time  of  the  occupation  of  the  city  of 
Mexico,  difficulties  arose  between  some  of  the  officers  of 
the  army.  From  misunderstandings  hasty  charges  were 
made,  and  recriminations  followed.  Two  of  the  officers, 
Pillow  and  Worth,  made  charges  against  the  General-in- 
Chief,  and  he  ordered  them  under  arrest  for  insubordina- 
tion. They  appealed  to  the  War  Department,  and  made 
representations,  in  consequence  of  which  the  venerable 
commander,  who  had  been  a worthy  leader  from  Lundy’s 
Lane  to  Mexico,  was  superseded  by  an  order  from  Wash- 
ington, and  the  temporary  command  given  to  another. 
Subsequently  the  charges  were  virtually  withdrawn,  and 
they  resumed  their  respective  ranks.  It  is  not  expedient 
to  go  into  detail ; let  the  matter  sink  into  oblivion.  But 
never  before — and  may  it  never  be  again — in  the  history 
of  the  country,  when  its  interests  were  so  deeply  involved, 
did  the  terms  of  “ party,”  democrat  or  whig,  of  “ friends  ” 
or  “ opponents  ” of  the  u administration,”  have  so  much 
influence. 

Certainly,  in  truth  it  has  been  said,  that  those  who 
served  their  country  well  in  this  war  fared  badly.  Taylor, 
who  was  victorious  from  Palo  Alto  to  Buena  Vista,  was 
quarrelled  with  ; Scott,  who  marched  triumphant  from 
Vera  Cruz  to  Mexico,  was  superseded  ; Fremont,  who 
secured  California,  was  court-martialled,  and  Trist,  who 
made  the  treaty,  which  secured  the  objects  of  the  war, 
was  recalled  and  dismissed. 

The  war  had  been  an  unceasing  source  of  disappoint- 
ment to  those  whose  measures  brought  it  on.  Santa 
Anna,  who  was  to  have  been  a harbinger  of  peace,  had  to 
he  beaten  from  point  to  point,  and  not  until  he  was 
finally  driven  from  power  did  those  of  his  countrymen, 
who  were  in  fa?  or  of  an  amicable  arrangement,  dare  to  act 


DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD  IN  CALIFORNIA. 


825 


When  the  commissioners,  appointed  by  the  President  chap. 

to  supersede  Trist,  arrived  at  Mexico,  they  found  the  treaty  

negotiated  and  signed  by  the  parties.  In  substance  it  was  1848, 
the  same  that  had  been  prepared  by  the  Cabinet.  When 
brought  to  Washington  it  was  at  once  laid  before  the 
Senate,  and  after  a short  discussion  ratified.  The  Presi- 
dent by  proclamation,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1848,  made 
known  to  the  nation  that  the  war  was  at  an  end,  and  a 
satisfactory  treaty  had  been  concluded. 

New  Mexico  and  Upper  California  were  ceded  to  the 
United  States,  and  the  lower  Rio  Grande,  from  its  mouth 
to  El  Paso,  was  taken  as  the  boundary  of  Texas.  Mexico 
was  to  receive  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  ; the  claims  of 
American  citizens  against  her — amounting  to  three  and  a 
quarter  millions  of  dollars — were  assumed  by  the  United 
States.  In  a few  months  not  an  American  soldier  was  on 
Mexican  soil. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1845,  the  annexation  of  Texas 
was  consummated  ; and  thus  within  three  years  a territory 
four  times  as  large  as  France,  had  been  added  to  the 
United  States — regions  hitherto  imperfectly  known,  but 
having  in  store  the  elements  of  great  wealth. 

At  the  very  time  that  the  commissioners  were  nego- 
tiating the  treaty,  a laborer  engaged  at  work  upon  a mill- 
race  belonging  to  Captain  Sutter,  on  one  of  the  tributaries 
of  the  Sacramento  river,  noticed  in  the  sand  some  shining 
particles.  They  proved  to  be  gold.  By  the  time  the 
treaty  was  ratified  rumors  of  the  discovery  reached  the 
United  States.  The  excitement  produced  was  unprece- 
dented. In  a short  time  thousands  were  on  their  way  to 
the  land  of  gold.  Every  means  of  conveyance  was  called 
into  requisition,  from  the  emigrant's  pack-horse  and  wagon,, 
to  the  sailing-vessel  and  the  steam-ship.  Some  went  in 
caravans  over  the  plains  and  the  Rocky  Mountains ; 
some  crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  found  their 
way  up  the  Pacific  coast ; others  took  ship  and  passed 


826 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIY. 


1848. 


1882. 


Feb. 

21. 


round  Cape  Horn.  The  sufferings  of  the  great  majority 
of  these  adventurers  were  intense  ; hundreds  of  them  met 
untimely  deaths  on  the  way,  or  by  disease,  privations,  and 
improvidence,  when  they  reached  their  journey's  end. 
The  ferment  extended  throughout  the  civilized  world. 
Multitudes  of  gold-seekers  were  soon  on  their  way  from 
the  different  countries  of  Europe  and  South  America,  and 
even  distant  China  sent  her  thousands.  The  tide  of  im- 
migration was  directed  to  San  Francisco,  which,  from  a 
miserable  village  of  a few  huts,  soon  became  a city  of  fifteen 
thousand  inhabitants,  now  to  have  about  sixteen  times 
that  number,  and  to  be  the  great  entrepot  of  the  Pacific. 

The  influence  of  this  discovery  of  gold  mines,  has  been 
incalculable  in  its  effects,  not  merely  upon  the  United 
States,  but  has  extended  to  other  nations.  “ It  touched 
the  nerves  of  industry  throughout  the  world,"  infused  new 
life  into  commerce,  and  awakened  a spirit  of  adventure  and 
individual  exertion  never  before  known. 

On  the  21st  of  February,  the  venerable  John  Quincy 
Adams,  when  in  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
was  struck  by  paralysis.  Two  days  later  he  expired.  His 
last  words  were,  ce  This  is  the  last  of  earth  : — I am  con 
tent."  Born  in  revolutionary  times  : “ The  cradle  hymns 
of  the  child  were  the  songs  of  liberty."  He  had  associated 
with  the  fathers  of  the  republic,  and  was  the  representa- 
tive of  the  memories  of  that  heroic  age.  For  more  than 
sixty  years  he  had  been  constantly  engaged  in  public 
affairs.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  private  secretary  to 
Francis  Dana,  American  minister  to  Russia  ; at  tvanty- 
seven  appointed  minister  to  Holland  by  Washington, 
who  styled  him  “ the  ablest  of  all  our  diplomatic  corps." 
Afterward  successively,  United  States  Senator  ; profes- 
sor in  Harvard  College  ; minister  to  Russia ; one  of  the 
negotiators  of  the  treaty  of  Grhent  ; Secretary  of  State 
under  Monroe  ; President,  and  then  member  of  the  Hvuse 
till  his  death,  at  the  age  of  fourscore.  Old  in  years  but 


THE  WILMOT  PKOVISO. 


827 


1848. 


buoyant  in  spirit,  he  never  lagged  behind  his  age  ; hut  chap 

with  careful  eye  watched  the  progress  of  his  country,  and  

sympathized  with  its  youthful  energies. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Polk  was  drawing  to  a 
close.  Its  great  event  had  been  the  Mexican  war,  the 
train  for  which  was  laid  under  his  predecessor.  The 
tariff  of  1842,  under  which  the  industry  of  the  country 
had  rapidly  recovered  from  its  prostration,  after  an  ex- 
istence of  four  years  was  so  modified,  as  to  afford  less  pro- 
tection to  American  manufactures. 


1846. 


David  Wilmot,  a member  of  the  House  from  Penn- 
sylvania, introduced  a proposition  into  Congress,  since 
known  as  the  “ Wilmot  Proviso,”  by  which  slavery  should 
be  prohibited  in  all  territory  obtained  by  treaty.  The 
ts  Proviso  ” did  not  become  a law,  but  the  subject  of 
slavery  was  once  more  brought  up  for  discussion. 

The  Democratic  convention  met  at  Baltimore  to  nomi- 
nate a candidate  for  the  office  of  President.  Two  sets  of 
delegates  appeared  from  Hew  York,  both  claiming  to  be 
the  true  representatives  of  the  Democracy  of  that  State. 

Ho  compromise  could  reconcile  the  parties,  and  the  con- 
vention solved  the  difficulty  by  excluding  both  from  its 
deliberations.  It  then  proceeded  to  nominate  Senator 
Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  for  President,  and  General 
William  0.  Butler,  of  Kentucky,  for  Vice-President. 

The  delegates  representing  the  Whig  party,  and  those 
opposed  to  the  measures  of  the  administration,  met  at 
Philadelphia,  and  nominated  General  Zachary  Taylor  for 
President,  and  Millard  Fillmore,  of  Hew  York,  for  Vice- 
President. 

One  portion  of  the  Democracy  of  Hew  York  accepted 
the  nominations  of  the  Baltimore  convention  ; another 
portion  rejected  them.  The  latter  called  a convention, 
at  Buffalo  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  the  extension  of 
slavery  into  free  territory.  They  adopted  a platform  in 


May 

1. 


June 

1. 


828 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIY. 


1848. 

Aug. 


June. 


favor  of  “Free  Soil/’  and  nominated  ex-president  Van 
Buren  for  the  Presidency  and  Charles  Francis  Adams 
(son  of  John  Quincy  Adams)  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 

A spirited  canvass  followed,  and  the  candidates  of 
the  Whig  party  were  elected. 

During  the  last  year  of  this  administration,  Wisconsin 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a State,  and  Minnesota 
organized  as  a Territory. 

A new  Department,  that  of  the  Interior,  was  created 
by  Congress,  to  relieve  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of 
part  of  his  duties. 

On  the  fifth  of  March,  the  fourth  occurring  on  the 
Sabbath,  the  new  President  was  inducted  into  office. 

Mr.  Polk,  broken  down  in  health,  retired  to  his  home 
in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  in  a few  months  he  was 
numbered  with  the  dead.  A man  of  exemplary  char- 
acter ; he  was  lamented  by  the  people. 


CHAPTER  LY. 

TAYLOR  AND  FILLMORE’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Discussion  on  Slavery. — Wilmot  Proviso. — The  Powers  of  the  Constitution ; 
their  Application  in  the  Territories. — Thirty-first  Congress. — President’s 
Message  ; its  Recommendations. — Debate  on  the  Omnibus  Bill. — Death 
of  Calhoun. — Death  of  President  Taylor. — Fillmore  Inaugurated. — 
The  Fugitive  Slave  Law. — The  Mormons;  their  Origin;  Troubles; 
Settlement  in  Utah. — A Disunion  Convention. — Lopez  invades  Cuba. — 
The  Search  for  Sir  John  Franklin. — Dr.  E.  K.  Kane. — Death  of  Henry 
Clay;  of  Daniel  Webster. — The  Tripartite  Treaty. — Presidential 
Election. 


General  Zachary  Taylor  was  a native  of  Virginia  ; but  chap. 

when  he  was  very  young,  his  father  removed  to  Kentucky,  

and  on  the  frontiers  of  that  State  he  spent  his  youth  as  a 1849. 
farmer.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  received  a com- 
mission in  the  army  from  President  Jefferson,  and  en-  1808. 
tered  upon  a career  more  congenial  to  his  tastes  than  cul- 
tivating the  soil.  F or  forty  years  he  was  in  the  military 
service  of  his  country  ; his  sphere  of  duty  was  on  the 
frontiers  ; and  thus  situated  he  had  never  even  voted 
at  an  election.  Honest  and  frank,  blest  with  common 
sense  and  firmness  of  purpose,  he  was  withal  unselfish 
and  patriotic,  and  uncontaminated  with  political  intrigues. 

His  inaugural  address  on  taking  the  office  of  President, 
was  brief,  and  confined  to  a declaration  of  general  prin- 
ciples. His  cabinet,  at  the  head  of  which  was  John 
M.  Clayton  of  Delaware,  was  at  once  confirmed  by  the 
Senate. 


830 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE, 


CHAP. 

LY. 


1820. 


1832. 


1885. 


1836. 


1846 


The  question  of  slavery  had  appeared  under  different 
phases.  For  twelve  years  after  the  passage  of  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise,  the  subject  had  not  been  agitated  in 
Congress,  but  now  attention  was  drawn  to  it  by  the  pre- 
sentation of  memorials,  praying  that  body  to  abolish  the 
slave-trade  and  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
Meantime  others,  who  looked  upon  the  system  as  an  evil 
to  be  remedied  at  all  hazards,  sent  through  the  mail  to 
the  South  publications,  addressed  to  the  slave-owners 
themselves,  and  designed  to  influence  them  in  favor  of 
emancipation  ; but  there  were  others  who  sent  papers 
that  contained  engravings  by  no  means  calculated  to 
make  the  slave  contented  with  his  lot.  The  fear  was 
great  lest  the  latter  might  become  the  occasion  of  insur- 
rections and  blood-shed.  President  Jackson  recommended 
to  Congress  to  pass  a law  prohibiting  the  use  of  the  mail 
for  the  circulation  of  “ incendiary  publications/'  But  the 
bill  to  that  effect  did  not  become  a law.  The  excitement 
was  great,  both  North  and  South  : in  the  former  sometimes 
developing  itself  in  violent  measures  against  the  abolition- 
ists ; in  the  latter,  some  broke  into  the  post-offices  and 
destroyed  the  obnoxious  papers,  and  others  raised  the  cry 
of  disunion,  while,  so  embittered,  had  the  feeling  become 
in  Congress,  that  for  a time  memorials  on  the  subject 
would  not  be  received. 

Now  the  slavery  agitation  was  a legacy  left  by  the 
previous  administration — a question  which  overshadowed 
all  others,  and  almost  exclusively  engaged  the  attention 
of  Congress  and  the  nation.  Three  years  before  the  Wil- 
mot  Proviso  had  initiated  the  discussion,  which  was  fast 
acquiring  a tone  of  bitterness  hitherto  unknown.  The 
contents  of  the  newspapers  showed  that  the  question  had 
penetrated  into  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  land — in 
social  circles  and  in  the  retirement  of  the  fireside — all 
were  alive  to  the  importance  of  the  subject  at  issue  ; the 


DISCUSSION  ON  THE  EXTENSION  OF  SLAVERY. 


831 


emotions  of  a nation  swayed  in  the  storm  of  clashing 
opinions. 

The  annexation  of  Texas  and  the  consequent  war  with 
Mexico,  came  to  he  looked  upon  as  designed  to  further 
the  interests  of  slavery,  and  to  commit  the  nation  to  the 
policy  of  extending  that  system.  Those  opposed  to  such 
measures  endeavored  to  counteract  them  by  means  of  the 
Proviso,  but  that  had  failed  to  receive  the  sanction  of 
Congress.  With  the  exception  of  Texas  proper,  it  was 
uncertain  whether  the  newly-acquired  territories  would 
admit  slavery  ; the  indications  were  that  they  would  re- 
ject it.  And  this  feature  of  the  controversy  gave  rise  to 
another  question  ; how  to  introduce  the  system  into  free 
territory.  Would  Congress  subvert  the  law  of  Mexico, 
which  had  long  since  prohibited  human  bondage  within 
her  limits  ? That  body  never  at  any  time  had  interfered 
with  slavery  as  existing  in  the  States,  neither  had  it 
directly  legislated  it  into  free  territory  : the  policy  had 
rather  been  not  to  interfere  with  the  inhabitants  in  de- 
ciding the  question  for  themselves. 

The  last  Congress,  absorbed  in  the  turmoil  of  the  dis- 
cussion, had  dissolved  without  providing  governments  for 
the  territories.  To  remedy  this  evil,  President  Taylor  in- 
structed the  Federal  officers  in  these  territories  to  en- 
courage the  people  to  organize  temporary  governments  for 
themselves. 

President  Polk  in  his  last  message  had  recommended 
that  the  Missouri  Compromise  line  of  thirty-six  degrees 
thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  be  extended  to  the  Pacific, 
and  thus  leave  the  territory  south  of  that  line  liable  to  be 
made  slaveholding.  Motions  to  that  effect  failed  in  Con- 
gress. That  line  had  been  adopted  for  the  Louisiana 
territory  alone,  which  was  slave,  and  it  made  one  side  free, 
but  if  it  was  produced  to  the  Pacific  it  would  pass  through 
free  territory,  and  therefore  make  one  side  slave 


CHAP 

LV. 


1849. 


832 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap  The  advocates  of  the  system  contended  that  they  had 

a right  to  go  into  any  of  the  territories  and  take  with  them 

1849.  their  property,  meaning  slaves.  That  was  admitted,  but 
only  under  the  laws  of  Congress,  which  so  far  protected 
such  property,  hut  it  was  denied  that  the  slaveholder 
could  carry  with  him  the  municipal  law  of  the  State  from 
which  he  emigrated,  any  more  than  the  emigrant  from  a 
free  State  could  take  with  him  its  peculiar  laws. 

The  same  object  was  sought  by  attempting  to  l(  ex- 
tend the  constitution  of  the  United  States  to  the  terri- 
tories,” and  this  under  the  form  of  an  amendment  attached 
to  the  general  appropriation  bill,  providing  a temporary 
government  for  the  ceded  territories,  and  extending  to 
them  certain  acts  of  Congress.  The  proposition  elicited 
a discussion  in  which  Calhoun  and  Webster  each  took 
part.  The  former  argued  that  the  Constitution  recog- 
nized slavery  ; that  it  was  the  supreme  law  of  the  land  ; 
therefore  it  was  superior  to  every  law  in  opposition  to 
slavery,  not  only  overriding  any  territorial  law  to  that 
effect,  but  even  superior  to  any  law  of  Congress  designed 
to  abolish  it  ; and  that  the  property  of  the  South,  mean- 
ing slaves,  would  thus  be  protected  by  the  Constitution 
in  the  territories  into  which  Calhoun  openly  avowed  his 
intention  to  thus  carry  the  institution  of  slavery.  “ The 
Constitution/'  said  he,  “ pronounces  itself  to  be  the  su- 
preme law  of  the  land  ; ” the  States  as  well  as  the  Ter- 
ritories. 

Mr.  Webster  replied  that  the  Constitution  was  made 
for  the  States  and  not  for  the  Territories  ; that  Congress 
governed  the  latter  independently  of  the  Constitution, 
and  often  contrary  to  it,  and  was  constantly  doing  things 
in  the  Territories  that  it  could  not  do  in  the  States  ; and 
that  the  Constitution  could  not  operate  of  itself  in  the 
Territories.  “ When  new  territory  has  been  acquired," 
said  he,  “ it  has  always  been  subject  to  the  laws  of  Con- 


THE  POWERS  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION. 


833 


gress,  to  such  laws  as  Congress  thought  proper  to  pass  fo» 
its  immediate  government  and  preparatory  state  in  which 
it  was  to  remain  until  it  was  ready  to  come  into  the 
Union  as  one  of  the  family  of  States.”  He  quoted  the 
Constitution  itself,  which  declares  that  “ it  and  the  laws 
of  Congress  passed  under  it  shall  he  the  supreme  law  o 
the  land.”  Thus  it  required  a definite  law  of  Congress 
to  establish  slavery  in  the  Territories  under  the  Constitu- 
tion, as  shown  by  the  words  of  that  instrument  itself. 

The  amendment  failed  in  both  houses  ; but  it  became 
the  germ  of  another  doctrine,  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  independently  of  an  act  of  Congress,  but 
in  spite  of  it,  not  only  goes  of  itself  to  the  territories  but 
carries  with  it  a shield  protecting  slavery. 

During  this  session  of  Congress  meetings  were  held  at 
Washington,  attended  by  a majority  of  the  members  of 
Congress  from  the  slave-holding  States,  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  measures  best  adapted  to  secure  southern 
rights. 

They  published  an  Address  to  the  people  of  the  South. 
It  was  drawn  up  by  Calhoun,  and  by  no  means  was  it 
conciliatory  in  its  tone  and  sentiments,  and  for  that 
reason  it  failed  to  enlist  in  its  favor  all  the  delegates  from 
the  South.  In  truth  it  became  a party  measure.  Only 
forty  members,  all  from  the  slaveholding  States,  signed 
their  names  to  the  Address  : of  these,  thirty-eight  belonged 
to  the  Democratic  party. 

This  manifesto  was  soon  followed  by  a Southern  Con- 
vention to  dissolve  the  Union.  The  Legislatures  of  two 
of  the  States,  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi,  issued  a 
call  for  a “ Southern  Congress,”  to  frame  a government 
for  a “ United  States  South.” 

The  agitation  was  not  limited  to  the  South  ; the 
North  was  as  busily  engaged  in  canvassing  the  exciting 
question,  and  both  parties  were  summoning  their  energies 
for  the  conflict  in  the  new  Congress  about  to  meet. 


CHAP. 

LY. 


1849. 


834 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LV. 


1849. 

Nov. 

3. 


The  thirty-first  Congress,  called  a month  earlier  than 
the  usual  time,  met  in  its  first  session.  Parties  were 
nearly  equally  divided.  The  House  spent  three  weeks, 
and  balloted  sixty  times  for  a speaker,  and  only  succeeded 
by  changing  the  rule  by  which  a majority  of  the  whole  is 
required  to  elect,  to  that  of  a plurality.  Mr.  C.  Howell 
Cobb,  of  Georgia,  was  elected  ; his  competitor  was  Mr. 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts. 

The  first  and  only  annual  message  of  President  Taylor 
was  sent  in.  He  saw  the  difficulties  which  lay  in  his 
path.  The  bitterness  of  party  had  been  increased  by 
sectional  feelings.  The  President  felt  the  responsibility 
of  his  position  ; but  he  fearlessly  yet  temperately  gave  his 
views,  and  plainly  intimated  that  he  should  not  shrink 
from  his  duty  to  the  Union  itself ; deprecated  sectional 
controversies,  and  referred  to  Washington  in  confirmation 
of  this  sentiment. 

The  points  at  issue  were  various,  and  he  recommended 
a plan  to  settle  each.  As  California,  whose  population 
had  increased  so  rapidly,  had  framed  a Constitution,  he 
advised  that  she  should  be  at  once  admitted  into  the 
Union  : that  New  Mexico  and  Utah  should  be  organized 
as  territories,  and  when  they  were  prepared  to  come  intc 
the  Union  as  States,  be  permitted  to  decide  the  question 
of  slavery  for  themselves  ; and  that  the  dispute  between 
Texas  and  New  Mexico,  in  relation  to  their  boundaries, 
should  be  settled  by  the  judicial  authority  of  the  United 
States 

Early  in  the  session  Henry  Clay  moved  in  the  Senate 
a series  of  resolutions  designed  to  settle  these  disputes  by 
a compromise.  A committee  of  thirteen  was  appointed, 
to  whom  these  resolutions  and  the  various  plans  which 
had  been  proposed  were  referred.  In  due  time  Mr.  Clay, 
as  chairman,  reported.  The  spirit  of  the  resolutions  was 
combined  in  one  measure,  which,  from  its  character  and 
the  dissimilar  objects  it  was  designed  to  accomplish,  was 


DISCUSSION  ON  THE  COMPROMISE  BILL. 


835 


styled  the  Omnibus  Bill  It  proposed  the  admission  of 

California  ; the  organization,  without  mention  of  slavery,  

of  the  territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Utah  ; the  arrange-  1849. 
ment  of  the  Texas  boundary,  by  paying  the  latter  ten 
millions  of  dollars  ; the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  the  enactment  of  a more 
stringent  fugitive  slave  law. 

Senator  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  insisted  that  1850. 
the  hill  was  not  equal  in  its  provisions,  because  the  South 
gained  nothing  by  the  measure  ; and  he  urged  that  the 
Missouri  line  of  compromise  should  he  extended  to  the 
Pacific,  u with  the  specific  recognition  of  the  right  to  hold 
slaves  in  the  Territory  below  that  line." 

To  this  Clay  replied,  that  “ no  earthly  power  could 
induce  him  to  vote  for  a specific  measure  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  slavery  where  it  had  not  existed,  either  north  or 
south  of  that  line."  “ I am  unwilling,"  continued  he, 

" that  the  posterity  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  Califor- 
nia and  of  New  Mexico  should  reproach  us  for  doing  just 
what  we  reproach  Great  Britain  for  doing  to  us."  “ If 
the  citizens  of  those  Territories  come  here  with  Constitu- 
tions establishing  slavery,  I am  for  admitting  them  into 
the  Union  ; but  then  it  will  be  their  own  work  and  not 
ours,  and  their  posterity  will  have  to  reproach  them  and 
not  ns  " 

Calhoun,  now  near  to  death,  in  a speech  read  by  a 
friend,  urged  that  if  the  Union  would  be  preserved,  it 
must  be  by  an  equal  number  of  slave  and  free  States,  to 
maintain  the  number  of  senators  equal  in  the  Senate. 

“ The  incurability  of  the  evil,"  said  Senator  Benton, 
of  Missouri,  “ is  the  greatest  objection."  “ It  is  a ques- 
tion of  races,  involving  consequences  which  go  to  the 
destruction  of  one  or  the  other  ; this  was  seen  fifty  years 
ago,  and  the  wisdom  of  Virginia  balked  at  it  then.  It 
seems  to  be  above  human  reason.  But  there  is  a wisdom 


836 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LY. 


1849. 


Mar. 

81. 


July, 

9.' 


above  human  ! and  to  that  we  must  look.  In  the  mean* 
time  not  extend  the  evil.” 

Soon  after  this  occurred  the  death  of  John  C.  Calhoun. 
He  first  entered  Congress  in  1811,  and  during  almost 
forty  years  had  filled  various  offices  in  the  service  of  his 
country.  A man  of  primitive  tastes  and  simple  manners, 
uniting  the  kindliest  of  feelings  with  unfiinching  integrity, 
and  devotion  to  duty.  The  latter  portion  of  his  public 
career  was  marked  by  the  most  strenuous  advocacy  of 
States'  rights  and  Southern  institutions. 

A few  months  later  President  Taylor  was  also  num- 
bered with  the  dead.  He  suddenly  became  ill  with  a 
violent  fever,  which  terminated  his  life  in  a few  days,  after 
he  had  held  office  sixteen  months.  He  had  shown  him- 
self equal  to  the  emergency  ; and  his  death  was  a public 
calamity  indeed.  Though  elected  by  one  party,  his  policy 
and  acts  were  approved  by  all,  and  the  whole  nation 
mourned  his  loss. 


MILLARD  FILLMORE. 

The  Vice-President,  on  the  10th  of  July,  took  the 
oath,  and  was  inaugurated  as  President.  It  way  done 
without  show  or  parade  ; merely  a joint  committee  of 
three  from  each  House  of  Congress,  and  the  members  of 
the  cabinet,  attended  him.  The  oath  was  administered 
by  the  venerable  William  Cranch,  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Circuit  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  who,  appointed 
by  John  Adams,  had  held  the  office  for  fifty  yearn.  Not 
an  unnecessary  word  was  spoken  . the  ceremony  was  one 
of  deep  solemnity. 

The  first  official  act  of  Mr.  Fillmore  was  to  call  upon 
Congress  to  take  suitable  measures  for  the  funeral  of  the 
late  President,  “ who  had  been  so  recently  raised  by  the 
unsolicited  voice  of  the  people  to  the  highest  civil  authority 


ADMISSION  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


837 


in  the  government.”  An  impressive  funeral  service  was  c®yP 

performed,  and  eulogies  pronounced  upon  him  by  many  of  

the  leading  statesmen  of  the  country.  The  Cabinet  re-  1850 
signed,  and  the  President  nominated  another,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  Daniel  W ebster  as  Secretary  of  State. 

Four  months  had  nearly  elapsed  since  Henry  Clay 
reported  his  Compromise  Bill.  Its  provisions  had  been 
thoroughly  discussed  by  the  members  of  both  Houses.  It 
was  then  taken  up  article  by  article  and  passed — the  last 
the  Fugitive  Slave  law.  The  similar  law  which  had  been  Sept, 
enacted  in  1787,  as  part  of  the  ordinance  prohibiting  18* 
slavery  in  the  Territory  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  and  also 
a law  to  the  same  effect  passed  during  W ashington’s  ad- 
ministration, were  thought  to  be  defective,  and  a new  one  ^93, 
was  framed. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  held  the 
opinion  that  justices  of  the  peace  in  the  respective  States, 
were  not  called  upon  to  enforce  the  law  for  the  rendition 
of  slaves.  Since  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  in 
Congress,  a dislike  to  enforcing  that  law  had  greatly  in- 
creased in  the  free  States.  The  feeling  reached  the 
Legislatures  and  some  of  them,  by  law,  prohibited  the  use 
of  their  jails  for  the  confinement  of  fugitive  slaves,  and 
the  justices  of  the  peace  refused  to  act  on  the  subject. 

To  obviate  the  latter  difficulty  the  present  bill  provided 
for  the  appointment  of  United  States'  commissioners, 
before  whom  such  cases  could  be  tried. 

When  the  vote  on  the  reception  of  California  was 
taken,  and  she  admitted  to  the  Union,  her  senators,  Wm. 

M.  Grwin  and  John  C.  Fremont,  who  had  been  in  waiting, 
immediately  took  their  seats. 

The  vast  region  known  as  Utah,  was  in  the  possession 
of  the  Indians  and  the  Mormons  or  Latter  Day  Saints,  a 
religious  sect.  It  was  founded  by  Joseph  Smith,  a native 
of  Vermont,  but  at  that  time  a resident  of  Central  New  18*27 


838 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


c^ap.  York  ; illiterate  and  superstitious,  cunning  and  unprin- 

cipled  ; when  a youth  he  loved  to  dupe  his  companions  ; 

1850.  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he  pretended  that  he  had  seen  visions  ; 
and  at  twenty-two  that  he  had  received  a direct  revelation 
from  heaven  ; that  he  had  been  directed  to  a certain  hill, 
where  he  would  find  golden  plates,  covered  with  Egyptian 
characters,  which  he  alone,  as  a prophet,  was  empowered 
to  decipher.  This  was  the  famous  “ Book  of  Mormon.” 
It  professed  to  give  a new  system  of  religion,  and  to 
chronicle  events  which  occurred  on  this  continent  long  an- 
terior to  the  Christian  era. 

It  is  said  a man  named  Spaulding,  when  laboring 
under  ill  health  wrote  the  story  to  alleviate  his  hours  of 
ennui  ; after  his  death  the  manuscript  fell  into  the  hands 
of  Smith,  who  unscrupulously  used  it  to  deceive  his  fel- 
low-men. 

His  system  of  polygamy  led  to  gross  immoralities  ; 
and  the  vicious,  as  well  as  the  ignorant,  some  of  whom 
may  have  been  honest,  became  his  disciples.  In  five 
1883.  years  he  had  twelve  hundred  followers.  At  this  time  the 
whole  sect  removed  to  Jackson  county,  Missouri.  As 
they  professed  to  be  the  true  saints,  by  virtue  of  which 
they  were  to  become  the  inheritors  of  the  western  country, 
they  became  objects  of  distrust  to  the  Missourians.  The 
militia  were  called  out,  but  the  Mormons  avoided  a con- 
1840.  diet  by  crossing  the  river  to  Illinois. 

They  prepared  to  make  that  State  their  home.  On  a 
bluff,  overlooking  the  Mississippi,  they  founded  a city, 
Nauvoo,  and  erected  an  imposing  temple.  Thefts  and 
robberies  were  numerous  in  the  vicinity,  and  these  crimes 
were  attributed  to  the  Mormons,  some  of  whom  were 
arrested.  The  saints,  it  was  said,  controlled  the  courts,  for 
the  prisoners  were  speedily  liberated.  An  intense  excite- 
ment was  produced  in  the  country  by  these  proceedings. 
At  length  the  Prophet  himself,  and  a brother,  were  ar- 
rested and  thrown  into  prison  in  the  town  of  Carthage 


SALT  LAKE  CITY — DISUNION  CONVENTION. 


839 


A mob  collected  a few  days  after,  and  in  the  melee  the 
brothers  were  slain.  The  spirit  aroused  against  them  was 
so  violent  that  the  Mormons  could  find  safety  alone  in 
flight,  and  the  following  year  they  sold  their  possessions, 
left  their  beautiful  city,  which  contained  ten  thousand  in- 
habitants, and  under  chosen  elders  emigrated  away  across 
the  plains  and  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  finally 
found  a resting  place  in  the  Great  Basin.  As  they  were 
now  upon  the  soil  of  Mexico,  they  hoped  their  troubles 
were  at  an  end.  They  significantly  called  their  new 
home,  Deseret — the  land  of  the  Honey  Bee.  To  recruit 
their  numbers  they  sent  missionaries  to  every  quarter  of 
the  globe  ; that  these  zealous  apostles  have  met  with 
astonishing  success  in  obtaining  proselytes,  is  a sad 
reflection. 

Meantime  they  labored  with  great  zeal  in  founding  a 
city  on  the  shores  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  It  is  on  ground 
four  thousand  three  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
ocean,  and  planned  on  a large  scale  ; its  streets  eight 
rods  wide,  and  every  house  surrounded  by  a garden. 

Presently  came  the  war  with  Mexico,  and  the  ceding 
of  all  that  region  to  the  United  States.  The  Mormons 
were  the  first  to  organize  themselves  as  a territory  under 
the  name  of  Deseret,  but  Congress  saw  proper  to  change 
the  name  to  U tah.  President  Fillmore  appointed  Brigham 
Young,  one  of  their  elders,  the  first  governor. 

After  the  passage  of  the  Compromise  Bill,  the  agita- 
tion by  no  means  ceased  in  the  south.  The  design  of 
seceding  from  the  Union  was  openly  avowed.  A Disunion 
Convention  met  at  Nashville,  Tennessee.  It  invited  the 
assembling  of  a “ Southern  Congress/'  but  the  legislatures 
of  only  two  States  responded  to  the  call — South  Carolina 
and  Mississippi.  The  former  elected  their  quota  of  repre- 
sentatives to  the  Congress.  The  great  mass  of  the  people 
were  moved  but  little  by  these  appeals,  and  the  country 


CHAP 

LV. 


1844. 


1850. 


840 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LY. 


1850 


breathed  more  freely  in  the  confident  belief  that  the  vexed 
question  was  really  at  rest. 

In  no  previous  discussion  of  the  subject  did  th».  great 
majority  of  the  people  of  the  Union  manifest  so  much 
interest,  not  because  it  had  become  more  important,  but 
a great  change  had  been  wrought,  since,  thirty  years  be- 
fore, the  country  was  agitated  by  the  discussions,  which 
led  to  the  enactment  of  the  Missouri  Compromise.  The 
number  of  newspapers  had  increased  at  an  unprecedented 
rate,  and  with  them  the  facilities  for  publishing  general 
intelligence  and  reporting  the  debates  in  Congress,  and 
now  was  added  the  telegraph,  which  seemed  almost  to 
bring  the  ears  of  the  nation  to  the  Halls  of  Legislation. 
Yet  in  a still  greater  proportion  had  the  numbers  of  in- 
telligent readers  increased,  millions  of  whom  became 
familiar  with  the  question  and  the  principles  involved, 
and  watched  with  increasing  interest  every  new  phase  the 
subject  assumed.  This  may  account  for  the  earnestness 
which  characterized  this  conflict  of  opinions  ; the  mass  of 
the  people  read  and  judged  for  themselves.  The  philan- 
thropist may  not  dread  the  response  of  their  hearts  ; — they 
may  be  slow  to  act,  but  they  are  untrammelled  by  pledges 
and  uninfluenced  by  political  aspirations. 

About  the  commencement  of  Taylor's  administration, 
General  Lopez,  a Spaniard,  endeavored  to  create  a revo- 
lution in  Cuba.  He  represented  that  the  people  of  that 
island  were  anxious  and  prepared  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of 
the  mother  country  ; and  by  this  means  he  persuaded  large 
numbers  of  adventurous  spirits  in  the  United  States  to 
engage  in  the  enterprise.  The  pretext  was  to  aid  the 
Cubans  ; but  the  real  object  was  to  secure  the  annexation 
of  the  island  to  the  United  States.  President  Taylor 
promptly  issued  a proclamation  forbidding  citizens  of  the 
Union  to  engage  in  the  expedition.  The  warning  was 
unheeded,  and  a company  of  six  hundred  men,  under  the 


SIR  JOHN  FRANKLIN DR.  E.  K.  KANE. 


841 


lead  of  Lopez,  eluded  the  United  States'  authorities,  and  chap. 

landed  at  Cardenas.  But  not  meeting  with  sympathy  

from  the  people  whom  they  professed  to  have  come  to  1850. 
liberate,  they  re-emoarked,  and  sailed  for  Key  West, 
Florida,  barely  escaping  capture  on  the  way  by  a Spanish 
steam-vessel  of  war. 

The  following  year  the  attempt  was  renewed.  A party 
of  four  hundred  and  eighty  men  landed  on  the  island,  but 
were  almost  immediately  overpowered  and  captured. 

Lopez  and  a number  of  his  deluded  followers  were  put  to 
death  by  the  Spanish  authorities  at  Havana. 

In  1845,  Sir  John  Franklin  sailed  from  England  in 
quest  of  the  long  sought  for  north-west  passage.  No  tid 
ings  had  ever  been  received  from  him,  and  the  several 
efforts  to  send  him  aid  had  been  unsuccessful.  The  sym- 
pathies of  the  humane  were  enlisted  in  behalf  of  the  daring 
navigator.  Mr.  Henry  Grinnell,  a noble-hearted  New 
York  merchant,  fitted  out,  at  his  own  expense,  an  expedi- 
tion which,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  De  Haven, 
of  the  United  States'  navy,  sailed  for  the  Arctic  regions 
in  May,  1850.  With  De  Haven  went  Dr.  E.  K.  Kane, 
in  the  capacity  of  surgeon  and  naturalist.  The  search 
was  unsuccessful,  and  the  vessels  returned. 

The  United  States'  Government  now  sent  another  1851. 
expedition  on  the  same  errand  of  mercy  in  connection 
with  Mr.  Grinnell.  The  control  of  this  was  given  to  Dr. 

Kane,  whose  scientific  attainments  were  of  a high  order, 
and  whose  prudence  and  indomitable  energy  excited  high 
hopes  of  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  The  search  was 
fruitless  ; the  results  of  the  discoveries  made  have  been 
embodied  and  given  to  the  world.  Sir  John  has  no  doubt 
long  since  perished,  while  his  unknown  friend,  Dr.  Kane, 
broken  down  in  health  because  of  his  labors  and  privations, 
has  also  closed  his  life. 

Two  of  our  greatest  statesmen,  with  whos3  names  for 
a third  of  a century  are  associated  some  of  the  most  im- 


842 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAF. 

LV. 


1852. 

Jane 

28. 

Oct. 

24. 


portant  measures  of  the  government,  passed  away.  Henry 
Clay  and  Daniel  Webster  : The  one  at  Washington,  the 
other  at  his  home  at  Marshfield. 

No  two  men  were  more  endeared  to  the  American 
people.  Henry  Clay,  by  his  generous  frankness,  and 
nobleness  of  character  won  their  love.  Daniel  Webster 
in  his  mighty  intellect  towered  above  his  peers,  and  com- 
manded their  respect ; of  him  they  were  proud. 

Spain  became  alarmed  at  the  attempts  of  lawless  ad- 
venturers striving  to  wrest  Cuba  from  her  hands.  France 
and  England  sympathized  with  her,  and  proposed  to  the 
United  States  to  join  with  them  in  a “ tripartite  treaty,” 
in  which  each  should  disclaim  any  intention  of  seizing 
upon  that  island,  but,  on  the  contrary,  should  guarantee 
its  possession  to  Spain.  A correspondence  to  this  effect 
had  already  commenced,  and  to  the  proposal  Edward 
Everett,  who  since  the  death  of  Webster  was  Secretary  of 
State,  replied  in  the  negative.  “ The  President,”  said  he, 
“ does  not  covet  the  acquisition  of  Cuba  for  the  United 
States.”  Yet  he  u could  not  see  with  indifference  that 
island  fall  into  the  possession  of  any  other  European  Gov- 
ernment than  Spain.”  It  was  shown  that  this  was  a 
question  peculiarly  American,  from  the  situation  of  the 
island  itself ; its  proximity  to  our  shores  ; its  commanding 
the  approach  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  to  the  entrance 
to  the  Mississippi,  which  with  its  tributaries  forms  the 
largest  system  of  internal  water-communication  in  the 
world,  and  also  its  ability  to  interfere  with  the  passage  to 
California  by  the  Isthmus  route.  It  was  another  state- 
ment of  the  celebrated  Monroe  doctrine,  that  the  United 
States  did  not  recognize  European  interference  in  ques- 
tions purely  American. 

For  President  the  Whigs  nominated  General  Scott, 
and  the  Democrats,  Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire. 


THE  HOUSE — THE  SENATE. 


843 


The  latter  was  elected,  in  connection  with  William  14. 
King,  of  Alabama,  as  Vice-President.  Mr.  King  had 
been  United  States’  Senator  from  that  State — with  the 
exception  of  four  years,  when  he  was  American  minister 
at  the  court  of  France — since  1819  ; compelled  by  declin- 
ing health  he  went  to  Cuba,  where  he  took  the  oath  of 
office.  Then  he  returned  home,  not  to  enter  upon  the 
duties  of  the  Vice-Presidency,  but  to  die. 

To  avoid  the  inconvenience  of  too  great  a number  of 
members  in  the  House  of  Pepresentatives,  as  well  as  to 
prevent  the  waste  of  time  in  arranging  the  ratio  of  its 
members  to  the  population,  it  was  enacted  that  after  the 
third  of  March,  1853,  “ The  House  of  Pepresentatives 
will  consist  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  members, 
Provided,  that  after  the  apportionment  of  the  Pepresen- 
tatives, under  the  next  or  any  subsequent  census,  a new 
State  or  States  shall  be  admitted  into  the  Union,  the 
Pepresentatives  assigned  to  such  new  State  shall  be  in 
addition  to  the  number  of  Pepresentatives  herein  lim- 
ited, which  excess  over  two  hundred  and  thirty-three 
shall  continue  until  the  next  succeeding  census.” 

Thereafter,  when  each  “ subsequent  census”  is  r fficially 
known,  the  House  determines  by  law  the  number  of  its 
own  members  “ until  the  next  succeeding  census,”  and  in 
proportion  to  that  the  number  of  its  Pepresentatives  is 
assigned  to  each  State.  The  Senate,  in  accordance  with 
Article  I.,  Section  3,  of  the  Constitution,  is  divided  into 
three  classes,  and  wdien  Senators  are  elected  from  a new 
State,  first  in  order  is  the  distribution  of  the  times  they 
are  to  serve  into  long  and  short  terms.  This  is  deter- 
mined by  lot,  and  ever  after  on  the  rolls  of  the  Senate 
that  distinction  is  preserved.  A member  of  the  House 
of  Pepresentatives  serves  two  years,  a President  four, 
and  a Senator  six.  This  overlapping  of  terms  is  designed 
to  secure  deliberate  legislation.  ■' 


CHAP. 

LV. 

1852. 


1850. 

“ay 


CHAP. 

LYI. 


1853. 


Jan. 

8. 


CHAPTER  LYI. 

PIERCE’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Purchase  of  the  Mesilla  Valley. — Treaty  with  Japan. — The  Kansas-No- 
braska  Bill. — The  effects  of  the  Measure. — Emigrants  to  Kansas.— 
Struggles  and  Conflicts. — James  Buchanan,  President. — The  Contest 
continues  in  Kansas. — National  Progress. 

The  new  President  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March, 
was  a native  of  New  Hampshire,  a graduate  of  Bowdoin 
College,  and  by  profession  a lawyer.  He  had  served  in 
the  legislature  of  his  native  State,  two  terms  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  at  Washington  and  nearly  a term  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  William  L.  Marcy,  of 
New  York,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State. 

Owing  to  the  incorrectness  of  the  maps  used  when  the 
treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  was  made,  a dispute  arose  as 
to  the  proper  boundaries  between  New  Mexico  and  the 
Mexican  province  of  Chihuahua.  Both  parties  claimed 
the  Mesilla  Yalley,  said  to  be  fertile,  but  more  important 
for  affording  facilities  for  a road  to  California.  Santa 
Anna,  who  was  again  President  of  the  republic  of  Mexico, 
and  intent,  as  usual,  on  driving  a bargain,  took  possession 
of  the  territory  in  dispute.  The  United  States  obtained 
the  valley,  and  the  free  navigation  of  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia and  of  the  river  Colorado,  to  the  American  boun- 
dary by  paying  the  Mexican  government  ten  millions  of 
dollars. 


TREATY  WITH  JAPAN THE  NEBRASKA  BILL. 


845 


The  acquisition  of  California  made  the  importance  of  csap. 

commercial  treaties  with  the  nations  of  eastern  Asia  more  

and  more  apparent.  During  Fillmore’s  term,  Commodore  1853. 
Perry,  brother  of  the  hero  of  Lake  Erie,  was  sent  with 
a squadron  to  open  communication  with  the  empire  of 
Japan.  The  inhabitants  of  those  islands  from  time  im- 
memorial had  excluded  foreigners.  The  authorities  were 
greatly  astonished  at  the  boldness  of  the  Commodore, 
when  he  appeared  w ith  his  steamers — the  first  that  ever 
floated  on  those  waters — in  the  Bay  of  Jeddo.  He  was 
ordered  to  depart  ; but  he  declined  and  insisted  on  seeing 
the  proper  authorities,  and  making  known  to  them  the 
object  of  his  friendly  visit.  At  length  a Japanese  officer 
appeared,  who  promised  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  em- 
peror. The  14th  of  July  was  the  day  named  to  receive 
the  letter  from  the  President. 

The  Commodore,  escorted  by  a company  of  marines, 
landed.  He  was  received  with  the  pomp  of  an  oriental 
pageant,  and  an  answer  to  the  letter  promised  the  following 
spring.  The  answer  was  received  and  a treaty  concluded. 

The  merchants  of  the  United  States  obtained  permission 
to  trade  in  two  specified  ports — Simodi  and  Hakodadl — 
and  also  for  the  residence  of  American  citizens  and  con- 
suls at  the  ports,  as  well  as  to  visit  without  molestation 
in  the  interior,  ten  or  twelve  miles.  April 

The  measure  that  will  render  the  administration  of 
Pierce  famous,  was  the  bill  to  organize  the  territories  of 
Nebraska  and  Kansas.  This  was  an  immense  region — 
extending  from  the  confines  of  Missouri,  Iowa  and  Min- 
nesota to  the  crest  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from 
thirty-six  degrees  thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  to  the 
British  possessions.  This  vast  territory  was  a part  of  the 
Louisiana  Purchase,  from  which,  by  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise, the  system  of  slavery  had  been  excluded. 

In  part  this  region  had  been  assigned  to  the  various 


846 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


Clyi'  tr^GS  of  Indians,  who  years  before,  to  make  way  for  set- 

tiers,  had  removed  from  their  lands  north-west  of  the 

1853.  Ohio.  The  white  settlers  who  had  gone  to  that  region 
wished  that  the  Indian  titles  should  be  extinguished,  and 
a territorial  government  established. 

In  accordance  with  this  wTish  Senator  Stephen  A. 

Jan  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  proposed  a hill  in  the  United  States' 

1854.  Senate,  to  organize  this  region  into  two  territories,  to  be 
known  as  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  This  bill  contained  a 
clause  repealing  the  Missouri  Compromise,  under  the  plea 
that  it  “ was  inconsistent  with  the  principle  of  non-in- 
tervention by  Congress  with  slavery  in  the  States  and 
Territories,  as  recognized  by  the  compromise  measures  of 
1850  ; ” “ it  being  the  true  intent  of  the  act  to  leave  the 
people  thereof  perfectly  free  to  form  and  regulate  their 
domestic  institutions  in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States/' 

The  people  were  taken  by  surprise.  The  question, 
so  destructive  to  national  harmony,  and  which  it  was 
hoped  had  been  settled  forever,  had  assumed  a new  form. 
The  Missouri  Compromise  had  been  deemed  a sacred  com- 
pact between  the  south  and  the  north,  and  as  such,  for 
the  third  of  a century,  had  received  the  sanction  of  all 
parties.  The  irritations  caused  by  the  fiery  discussions 
in  Congress  four  years  previous  were  by  no  means  yet 
healed.  A deep-toned  feeling  was  excited,  especially  in 
the  northern  States. 

It  was  just  fifty  years  since  the  purchase  of  the  ter- 
ritory, and  up  to  this  time  nearly  all  its  benefits  had  been 
enjoyed  by  those  who  held  slaves.  Meantime  emigrants 
from  the  free  States  had  been  compelled,  from  their  un- 
willingness to  come  in  contact  with  slavery,  to  seek  their 
homes  and  farms  north  of  Missouri,  and  forego  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  genial  climate  found  in  the  latitude  of 
that  State. 

These  free  laborers,  as  well  as  those  who  intended  to 


EMIGRANTS  TO  KANSAS. 


847 


oeek  homes  in  the  west,  complained  that  this  region,  c*^p- 

guaranteed  to  them  by  the  Missouri  Compromise,  should  

be  rendered  liable  to  be  made  slaveholding.  Conventions  1854. 
were  held  and  petitions  poured  into  both  Houses  of  Con- 
gress, imploring  those  bodies  not  to  disturb  the  tranquillity 
of  the  country,  nor  violate  the  compact  so  long  held 
sacred.  The  South  did  not  participate  so  much  in  this 
feeling. 

In  reply  to  these  remonstrances  it  was  said,  the  prin- 
ciple of  “ Squatter  or  Popular  Sovereignty/'  would  obviate 
all  difficulty  ; by  this  principle  the  people  of  the  territory 
would  be  free  in  their  political  action,  and  when  they 
came  to  form  their  state  constitutions,  and  ask  admission 
into  the  Union,  they  could  exercise  this  right  and  adopt 
or  reject  slavery.  With  this  interpretation  the  bill  passed 
Congress,  after  nearly  four  months'  discussion,  was  signed 
by  the  President,  and  became  the  law  of  the  land.  May 

Now  came  the  struggle  to  secure  the  new  State  by 
sending  emigrants,  whose  votes  were  to  decide  the  ques- 
tion. Two  years  before,  and  not  with  reference  to  a con- 
tingency of  this  kind,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts 
incorporated  a company  known  as  u The  Emigrants'  Aid 
Society."  This  association  had  been  inactive,  but  now  its 
aid  was  invoked,  and  numbers  were  assisted  to  emigrate 
to  Kansas.  Similar  societies  were  formed  in  other  north- 
ern States.  The  emigrants  from  the  free  States  went  to 
remain  and  improve  their  claims,  and  found  homes  for 
their  families.  Emigrants  came  also  from  the  Southern 
States,  but  with  the  exception  of  those  who  came  from 
Missouri  only  a limited  number  have  remained  in  the  ter- 
ritory to  improve  their  claims. 

Conflicting  opinions  soon  produced  political  parties 
known  as  Pro-Slavery  and  Free-State,  and  the  practical 
application  of  the  doctrine  of  “ popular  sovereignty"  wap 


848 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LYI. 

1854. 
Kov 

Mar. 

1855. 


July 

2. 


OJt. 


Jan. 

15. 


appealed  to,  to  test  which  party  had  the  majority,  and 
according  to  true  democracy  should  rule. 

The  first  territorial  election  was  held  to  choose  a dele- 
gate to  Congress,  and  four  months  later — a census  in  the 
meantime  having  been  taken  and  the  territory  divided 
into  districts — another  election  wras  held  to  choose  members 
to  the  Territorial  Legislature.  In  both  of  these  elections, 
the  pro-slavery  party  claimed  that  they  had  chosen  theii 
“andidates,  but  the  free-state  men  repudiated  the  elec- 
tion as  fraudulent  ; giving  as  a reason  that  the  polls  were 
controlled  by  armed  men  from  Missouri. 

The  Territorial  Legislature  assembled  at  Pawnee  and 
immediately  adjourned  to  the  Shawnee  Mission,  near  the 
Missouri  State  line.  They  passed  a series  of  laws,  to 
which  Governor  Reeder  refused  his  signature,  on  the 
ground  that  the  Legislature,  by  the  organic  act,  could  not 
change  the  place  of  meeting  appointed  by  himself.  These 
laws  were  however  passed  by  a two-thirds  vote. 

The  Free  State  men  held  conventions,  denied  the  le- 
gality of  the  legislature,  and  refused  to  obey  the  laws  en- 
acted by  it,  and  made  arrangements  to  choose  delegates 
to  a Convention  to  form  a Constitution.  In  due  time  this 
Convention  assembled  at  Topeka,  framed  a Constitution 
rejecting  slavery,  and  ordered  it  to  be  submitted  to  the 
vote  of  the  people,  who  ratified  it.  One  month  later  the 
people  chose  State  officers  and  members  for  a State  Legis- 
lature. Soon  after  Governor  Reeder  was  removed  from 
his  office  by  the  President. 

During  these  ten  months  confusion  reigned  in  the 
Territory.  Outrages  of  almost  every  kind  were  com- 
mitted, robberies,  murders,  illegal  arrests  and  property 
destroyed,  most  of  which  belonged  to  the  Free  State 
settlers. 

Wilson  Shannon,  of  Ohio,  who  had  recently  been  ap- 
pointed Governor,  now  appeared  and  assumed  office,  lie 


CONGRESS  APPOINTS  A COMMITTEE  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


849 


declared  himself  in  favor  of  the  laws  enacted  at  the  Shaw- 
nee Mission. 

The  government,  under  the  Free-State  Constitution, 
was  organized,  and  the  contest  took  the  form  of  civil  war. 

At  the  opening  of  the  session  of  Congress,  the  delegate 
from  Kansas,  chosen  as  related  above,  appeared  and  de- 
manded his  seat.  After  a spicy  discussion  the  House  refused 
the  demand,  but  appointed  a committee  to  proceed  to  the 
Territory  and  summon  witnesses  in  relation  to  the  recent 
elections.  In  a month’s  time  the  committee  had  arrived 
in  Kansas,  and  commenced  the  investigation.  Their 
report  sustained  the  charge  that  those  elections  had  been 
carried  by  fraud. 

The  summer  of  1856  was  signalized  by  the  commission 
of  many  outrages,  committed  in  different  parts  of  the  Ter- 
ritory. The  Free-State  men  armed  themselves,  and 
determined  to  defend  their  rights.  Several  conflicts  en- 
sued and  many  lives  were  lost.  Presently  Shannon 
received  notice  of  his  removal  from  office,  and  John  W. 
Geary,  of  Pennsylvania,  soon  appeared  as  his  successor. 
The  new  governor  honestly  labored  to  restore  harmony. 
He  ordered  u all  bodies  of  men  combined,  armed,  and 
equipped  with  munitions  of  war,  without  authority  of  the 
government,  instantly  to  disband,  and  quit  the  territory.’’ 
Upon  this  the  companies  of  Free-State  men  nearly  all 
disbanded,  but  it  was  only  partially  obeyed  by  the  other 
party,  who  had  concentrated  a force  of  more  than  two 
thousand  men.  The  Governor,  with  the  dragoons,  threw 
himself  between  them  and  the  town  of  Lawrence  and  pre- 
vented another  conflict. 

The  presidential  canvass  was  now  in  progress.  The 
main  question  at  issue — the  extension  of  slavery  into  the 
Territories  or  its  limitation  to  the  States  wherein  it 
already  existed. 


CHAF 

LVT. 


1855. 

"Mar. 

4 

Dec. 

1855 


Mar, 

19. 


Sept 

15. 


850 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP 

LYI. 


1853. 


Nov. 

1856. 


Feb. 

17. 

1857. 


Within  a few  years  political  issues  had  somewhat 
changed.  A party  known  as  American,  had  arisen  ; theii 
main  principle  opposition  to  foreign  influence,  and  thei» 
motto,  “ Americans  should  rule  America.”  The  follow- 
ing year  they  were  successful  in  most  of  the  state  elections. 
Meantime  arose  another  party,  composed  principally  of 
Whigs  and  Democrats,  who  were  opposed  to  the  extension 
of  slavery  into  free  territory.  They  were  known  as  Re- 
publicans. On  the  other  hand  the  Democrats  announced 
themselves  willing  to  let  slavery  go  into  the  territories  if 
the  inhabitants  thereof  desired  it.  The  latter  party 
nominated  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania  ; the  Re- 
publicans, John  C.  Fremont,  of  California,  and  the 
Americans,  ex-president  Fillmore. 

The  canvass  was  one  of  more  than  usual  spirit.  The 
passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  had  even  added  new 
interest  to  the  main  question  at  issue.  It  had  taken  deep 
hold  of  the  minds  of  the  people  ; and  they  never  before 
gave  such  evidence  of  their  independence,  and  repudiation 
of  mere  party  ties. 

Mr.  Buchanan  was  elected  President,  and  John  C. 
Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  Vice-President. 

The  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington  passed 
a bill,  declaring  the  acts  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of 
Kansas  null  and  void,  both  on  the  ground  that  its  enact- 
ments “ were  cruel  and  oppressive,”  and  that  “ the  said 
legislature  was  not  elected  by  the  legal  voters  of  Kansas, 
but  was  forced  upon  them  by  non-residents  in  violation  of 
the  organic  act  of  the  territory.”  This  bill  failed  to  pass 
the  Senate. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  Mr.  Buchanan  was  inaugurated 
President.  He  was  educated  for  the  legal  professioa 
At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  served  as  a member  of  the 
Legislature  of  his  native  State.  He  was  afterward  a 


LECOMPTON  CONVENTION. 


851 


member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  ten  years  ; then 
Minister  to  Russia — sent  hy  General  Jackson — then  a 
member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  ; then  Secre- 
tary of  State,  under  President  Polk,  and  then  Minister  to 
Great  Britain.  Senator  Lewis  Cass  was  appointed  Secre- 
tary of  State,  hy  the  new  President. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of 
Kansas  an  election  was  ordered  for  delegates  to  a conven- 
tion for  the  purpose  of  framing  a constitution,  but  under 
conditions  to  secure  a pro-slavery  majority  of  delegates. 

The  Free  State  men,  for  the  reasons  already  given,  as 
well  as  others,  refused  to  take  part  in  the  election.  It 
was  held,  however,  and  a pro-slavery  delegation  chosen.  June. 
Meanwhile  the  other  party  published  an  address  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  in  which  they  set  forth  the 
wrongs  they  had  endured,  and  to  which  they  were  still 
subject. 

Soon  after  Governor  Geary  resigned,  and  the  President 
appointed  Robt.  J.  Walker,  of  Mississippi.  The  new 
Governor  endeavored  to  remedy  these  evils,  and  promised 
the  people  of  the  territory  a free  expression  of  their  wishes 
at  the  polls. 

Owing  to  the  influence  of  Governor  Walker  the  Free 
State  men  consented  to  vote  at  the  coming  election  for  a 
delegate  to  Congress,  and  members  for  a Territorial  Legis- 
lature. They,  ly  a vote  more  than  two  to  one,  chose  their 
candidates.  Oct. 

Shortly  after  this  election,  the  delegates  chosen  as  we 
have  seen,  met  in  convention  at  Lecompton,  and  speedily 
framed  a constitution.  It  contained  a provision  adopting 
slavery,  and  this  provision  alone,  the  convention  submitted 
to  the  people  of  Kansas  to  ratify  or  reject.  Connected 
with  this  was  a clause  which  made  it  necessary  for  those 
who  were  challenged  at  the  polls  “to  take  an  oath  to 
support  the  constitution  if  adopted,”  before  they  were 


CHAP 

LVI. 

1857. 


85  2 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVI. 


1857. 


April 

30. 


1858. 


1859, 

Oct. 


permitted  to  deposit  their  vote.  This  was  followed  by  a 
proviso  that  the  Constitution  could  not  be  amended  be- 
fore the  year  1861,  and  then  only  by  the  concurrence  of 
two-thirds  of  the  members  of  both  Houses  of  the  Legisla- 
ture and  “ a majority  of  all  the  citizens  of  the  State.” 

The  Free  State  men  refused  to  vote  on  the  ratification 
of  this  constitution,  as  they  denied  the  authority  that 
framed  it ; but  it  received  some  votes,  and  was  declared 
adopted,  and  sent  as  such  to  Congress.  There  the  discus- 
sion on  the  subject  wTas  as  bitter  as  ever.  It  was  denied 
that  the  people  of  Kansas  were  fairly  treated  in  not  hav- 
ing the  opportunity  to  vote  upon  the  adoption  of  the 
entire  constitution  as  implied  by  the  doctrine  of  “ Popu- 
lar Sovereignty,”  said  to  be  the  essence  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill. 

Finally,  a bill  was  passed  to  submit  the  constitution 
to  the  people  of  Kansas,  but  on  two  conditions : one,  that 
if  they  failed  to  ratify  it,  they  would  not  be  permitted  to 
enter  the  Union  until  they  had  a population  of  ninety- 
three  thousand ; the  other,  if  they  did  ratify  it,  they 
should  receive  certain  of  the  public  lands  for  State  pur- 
poses. In  the  face  of  these  strange  conditions  the  people 
of  Kansas,  on  the  2d  of  August,  rejected  the  constitution 
by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

After  this  decided  and  noble  stand  by  the  Free  State 
men  in  Kansas  there  was  a lull  in  the  excitement.  Mean- 
while the  people  were  preparing  for  the  territory  to 
assume  her  place  among  the  States  of  the  Union  when 
the  whole  nation  was  startled  by  an  effort  to  free  the 
slaves  by  force  of  arms.  The  plan  was  organized  and 
attempted  to  be  carried  out  by  John  Brown — better 
known  as  “ Old  John  Brown  of  Osawatomie,”  at  which 
place  he  lived,  and  who,  in  the  Kansas  troubles,  had 
beaten  off  an  armed  force  of  the  pro-slavery  party  five 
times  as  great  as  his  own,  the  former  having  an  unusual 
number  of  men  killed  and  wounded. 


JOHN  BROWN. 


853 


This  singular,  conscientious,  determined  man,  who 
under  no  circumstances  ever  swerved  from  what  lie 
thought  was  right,  was  a native  of  Connecticut,  and  de- 
scended from  Peter  Brown,  a humble  Pilgrim  on  the 
Mayflower.  Religiously  trained,  he  became  a church- 
member  at  the  age  of  sixteen  ; thoughtful  for  his  years, 
at  twelve  he  found  himself  an  instinctive  hater  of  slav- 
ery from  seeing  his  friend,  a colored  boy  about  his  own 
age,  grossly  abused  without  redress.  This  hatred  of 
the  system  was  never  modified,  but  grew  intenser  with 
his  years.  At  the  time  of  which  we  speak  he  was  a resi- 
dent of  New  York  State.  When  he  learned  of  the  efforts 
to  force  the  system  of  bondage  on  the  territory  of  Kan- 
sas he  hastened  thither,  where  he  already  had  four  sons, 
and  three  others  who  soon  after  followed  their  father. 
There  in  his  peculiar  way  he  became  a leader  among  the 
Free  State  men  in  their  conflicts  with  their  enemies  from 
across  the  boundary  line  of  the  territory  and  Missouri. 
In  one  of  these  battles  beside  him  lay  a son  just  killed, 
while  the  father  in  one  hand  held  the  pulse  of  another 
mortally  wounded,  and  in  the  other  grasped  a rifle.  Some 
time  before  another  son  had  been  murdered.  With  only 
twenty-one  men  he  seized  the  United  States  arsenal  at 
Harpers  Perry  in  northern  Virginia.  lie  may  have  sup- 
posed the  slaves  would  avail  themselves  of  an  opportunity 
to  fight  for  their  freedom,  but  none  joined  him.  They 
always  looked  for  some  outside1  influence  to  secure  their 
emancipation.  John  Brown  is  represented  as  being  kind 
and  sympathetic,  and  his  heart  was  moved  as  he  contem- 
plated the  system  of  bondage  under  which  the  slaves 
moaned.  Fie  thought  himself  in  the  line  of  duty,  and 
while  we  may  respect  his  motives  we  cannot  his  pru- 
dence. The  explanation  may  be  that  he  brooded  so  long 
over  the  wrongs  suffered  by  the  slaves  that  he  became 


CHAP. 

LVI. 


1859. 


Oct. 

16. 


Hist.,  p.  902. 


854 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVI. 

1859. 


1860, 

June 


1853. 


partially  crazed  on  the  subject,  and  overlooked  the  insu- 
perable difficulties  in  carrying  out  his  plan  for  their 
emancipation.  In  the  conflict  which  ensued  with  the 
State  authorities,  who  were  aided  by  United  States  ma- 
rines, he  was  wounded  and  captured,  after  a severe  strug- 
gle, in  which  thirteen  of  his  party  were  killed — two  of 
them  his  sons — six  were  made  prisoners,  and  two  escaped. 
During  his  trial  he  lay  on  his  couch  in  the  court-room. 
He  met  death  in  a calm  and  heroic  manner. 

This  was  the  only  instance  in  which  an  Abolitionist, 
as  such,  attempted  to  secure  the  freedom  of  the  slaves  by 
means  of  violence. 

Three  days  after  the  execution  of  Brown,  Congress 
assembled,  and  during  its  session  was  laid  before  it  a 
constitution  voted  upon  and  approved  by  the  people  of 
Kansas.  A bill  admitting  the  State  passed  the  House, 
but  failed  in  the  Senate. 

A treaty  having  been  made  with  Japan  that  govern- 
ment sent,  in  the  summer  of  1860,  a number  of  officials 
to  bring  it  when  ratified  to  the  United  States.  This  im- 
posing embassy  consisted  in  all  of  seventy -one  persons  of 
various  ranks.  They  wTere  received  and  treated  as  the 
guests  of  the  Nation,  and  in  consequence  of  this  treaty 
important  commercial  relations  have  since  existed  between 
the  United  States  and  that  empire. 

Minnesota  was  admitted  into  the  Union,  and  allowed 
to  have  two  representatives  until  the  next  apportionment 
of  members  among  the  several  States. 

A change  was  made  in  the  laws  in  relation  to  the 
issue  of  patents,  by  which  “ all  patents  hereafter  granted 
shall  remain  in  force  seventeen  years  from  date  of  issue, 
and  all  extensions  of  such  patents  are  hereby  prohibited.” 

The  Eighth  Census  of  the  United  States  sums  up  as 
follows  : Entire  population,  31,443,790  ; of  whom  3,953,- 
529  are  slaves. 


1860. 


PARTY  PLATFORMS. 


855 


The  question  of  the  extension  of  slavery  into  the  Ter-  ClyiR 

ritories,  was  by  no  means  decided  in  the  presidential  con-  

test  of  1856.  During  the  subsequent  four  years  the  1860° 
discussion  of  the  subject  still  continued  in  Congress  and 
among  the  people.  In  proportion  as  they  read  and  judged 
for  themselves,  did  party  spirit  lose  its  despotic  influences, 
and  the  change  in  public  sentiment,  especially  in  the 
non-slaveholding  States,  was  unprecedented.  Many  thou- 
sands of  intelligent  voters,  who  once  acquiesced  in  the 
policy  of  the  extension  of  the  system,  would  no  longer 
lend  their  sanction  to  measures  the  tendency  of  which 
they  now  better  understood. 

In  view  of  subsequent  events,  a more  than  usual  in- 
terest will  ever  belong  to  the  exposition  of  principles  as 
set  forth  in  what  are  termed  “ platforms  ” of  the  parties 
in  nominating  their  respective  candidates  for  the  office  of 
President  in  1860. 

The  Democratic  party,  at  a convention  held  in  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  became  divided  into  two  hostile  sec- 
tions— the  Breckinridge  and  Douglas — thus  designated 
from  their  prominent  leaders.  One  section — the  Breckin- 
ridge— reaffirmed,  with  explanatory  resolutions,  the  prin- 
ciples adopted  by  the  entire  party  four  years  before  at  its 
convention  held  in  Cincinnati.  They  proclaimed  the  1856. 
“ non-interference  of  Congress  with  slavery  in  the  Terri- 
tories or  in  the  District  of  Columbia,”  and  “ The  ad- 
mission of  new  States  with  or  without  domestic  slavery, 
as  they  may  elect.”  The  other  section — Douglas — also 
adopted  the  Cincinnati  platform,  and  likewise  affirmed 
“ That  as  differences  of  opinion  exist  in  the  Democratic 
party  as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  powers  of  a Ter- 
ritorial Legislature,  and  as  to  the  powers  and  duties  of 
Congress  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  over 
the  institution  of  slavery  within  the  Territories,”  u That 
the  party  will  abide  by  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme 


856 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVI. 

1860. 

1849. 


Court  of  the  United  States  on  the  questions  of  Constitu- 
tional law/’  These  resolutions  are  significant.  That 
court  had  recently  given  an  opinion  known  as  the  Dred 
Scott  Decision,  which  was  now  assumed  to  sanction  the 
doctrine,  first  announced  by  John  C.  Calhoun,  that  the 
Constitution  recognized  slavery,  and  sanctioned  and  pro- 
tected it  in  the  Territories.1  On  the  contrary,  the  Re- 
publican party  denied  that  this  special  decision  of  the 
court  had  a legitimate  bearing  on  the  subject,  it  being  a 
side  issue,  and  therefore  null  and  void ; and  now,  since 
other  means  had  failed  in  Kansas,  used  only  to  introduce 
covertly  the  system  of  human  bondage  into  the  Terri- 
tories. The  latter  party,  at  their  convention  held  in  Chi- 
cago, announced  that  “ the  maintenance  of  the  principles 
promulgated  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  em- 
bodied in  the  Federal  Constitution,  is  essential  to  the 
preservation  of  our  Republican  Institutions.”  “ That  all 
men  are  created  equal  ; that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights  ; ” and  “ That  the 
Federal  Constitution,  the  rights  of  the  States  and  the 
union  of  the  States,  must  and  shall  be  preserved  ; ” also 
the  rights  of  the  States  should  be  maintained  inviolate, 
“ especially  the  right  of  each  State  to  order  and  control  its 
own  domestic  institutions  according  to  its  own  judgment 
exclusively.”  “ That  the  normal  condition  of  all  the 
Territory  of  the  United  States  is  that  of  freedom,”  and 
they  denied  “ the  authority  of  Congress,  of  a Territorial 
Legislature,  or  of  individuals,  to  give  legal  existence  to 
slavery  in  any  Territory  of  the  United  States.” 

Still  another  party,  heretofore  mainly  known  as 
American,  now  adopted  the  designation  of  “ Constitu- 
tional Union,”  and  proclaimed  as  their  platform,  “ The 
Constitution  of  the  country,  the  union  of  the  States,  and 
the  enforcement  of  the  laws.” 


Soe  Hist.,  pp.  832,  833. 


CHAPTER 


L V II. 


BUCHANAN’S  ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 

Traits  of  Character,  North  and  South. — Comparative  Intelligence  in 
the  Free  and  Slave  States.— Benevolent  Operations. — Foreign  Pop- 
ulation.— Material  Progress. — Compromises. — Republican  Party. — 
Democratic  Convention— Presidential  Election. — Intent  of  Per- 
sonal Liberty  bills. — Union  Men. — The  Corner-Stone. — Legisla- 
tures and  Conventions  South. — Non-coercion. — Feeling  in  the 
Border  States. — Finances.— Buchanan’s  Message. — Fort  Sumter 
Occupied  by  Anderson. — The  Preparations. — Yulee’s  Letter. — No 
Vote  of  the  People  Allowed. — Mr.  Lincoln’s  Journey. — Convention 
at  Montgomery. — Fallacies  — England  and  Cotton. 

Before  entering  upon  the  narrative  of  the  great  Rebellion,  crap. 

and  to  fully  understand  its  cause,  we  must  notice  certain  1 

influences  that  have  had  a share  in  moulding  the  character- 

° 1857 

istics  of  the  American  people  both  North  and  South. 
Though  the  people  of  both  sections  take  pride  in  the  same 
ancestry  and  cling  to  the  same  traditions,  cherish  the  same 
love  of  country  and  have  the  same  belief  in  Christianity, 
yet  certain  influences  during  a period  of  two  centuries  pro- 
duced slightly  marked  characteristics.  The  Southern  col- 
onists, especially  of  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas,  had  their 
notions  of  rank  and  aristocracy,  and  prejudices  against  the 
descendants  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  who  settled  in  the  North- 
ern portion  of  the  land.  The  Northern  colonists  had  their 
prejudices,  which  grew  out  of  religious  differences  in  the 
mother  country.  The  seven  years’  struggle  of  the  Revolu- 
tion brought  the  people  nearer  together  by  a bond  of  sym- 
pathy. The  Northern  colonists  had  a better  appreciation 


858 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1857. 


of  education,  and  they  labored  to  extend  its  influence  to 
all,  beginning  at  the  most  bumble,  thus  elevating  the 
people  by  making  them  intelligent  and  moral ; and  for 
this  purpose  they  established  common  schools.1  As  labor 
with  them  was  respected,  so  voluntary  ignorance  was 
despised,  while  that  which  was  involuntary  was  pitied, 
and  an  effort  made  to  remove  the  evil.  Massachusetts 
and  the  other  colonies  of  Hew  England  were  in  this 
respect  in  contrast  with  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas:  the 
latter  made  scarcely  an  effort  to  instruct  the  children  of 
the  people  at  large,  providing  no  general  system  of  com- 
mon-school education.2  In  these  colonies — afterward  in 
the  States — the  people  of  limited  means  were  non-slave- 
holders, and  when  they  aspired  to  a higher  rank  in  the 
social  scale  they  found  themselves  confronted  with  this 
fact.  Thus  trammeled  they  made  little  advancement, 
and  in  the  course  of  time  this  contemptuous  treatment  on 
the  part  of  the  aristocracy  frittered  away  much  of  the 
self-respect  of  that  class  of  the  community.  This  was 
specially  the  case  during  the  first  sixty  years  of  the  pres- 
ent century.  The  laws  prohibiting  the  slaves  learning  to 
read  and  write  were  most  stringent,  and  persons  who 
should  teach  them  were  liable  to  punishment  by  fine  and 
imprisonment,  while  “ a code  of  slave  laws,  the  most 
wicked  that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  guaranteed  the  sub- 
jection of  the  victims.”  3 

Just  about  one  hundred  years  before  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  when  free  schools  had  been  established  for 
a generation  in  the  New  England  colonies,  a Governor  of 
Virginia — Berkeley — in  an  apparently  devout  frame  of 
mind,  when  speaking  of  the  colony,  wrote : “ I thank 
God  there  are  no  free  schools  nor  printing ; and  I hope 
we  will  not  have  them  these  hundred  years — God  keep 
us  from  both.” 4 His  “ hope”  was  virtually  realized  ; as 

1 Hist.,  pp  133,  124  3 Hist.,  p.235. 

Mackenzie's  Nineteenth  Century,  p.  75.  4 Hist.,  pp.  138-142. 


EDUCATIONAL  EESULTS. 


859 


it  was  more  than  half  a century  after  that  before  a print- 
ing press  was  at  work  in  Virginia,  and  common  schools 
waited  nearly  two  centuries  for  their  admission. 

Time  has  shown  the  effects  of  these  two  systems,  so 
radically  different,  because  the  habits,  the  customs,  and 
even  the  prejudices  of  the  colonists  passed  over  into  the 
States,  and  though  softened  and  modified  in  the  transition, 
lasted  long  after  the  Revolution.  For  sake  of  conveni- 
ence we  compare  New  England  and  Virginia — they  two 
being  the  most  influential  before  that  time  and  imme- 
diately afterward.  In  making  a comparison  we  pass  over 
about  six  generations  to  see  more  perfectly  the  results  of 
the  two  systems  of  education.  The  one  originating  in 
Massachusetts  was  radical,  commencing  at  the  bottom  and 
educating  upward ; the  other  in  Virginia  commenced  at 
the  highest  rank  in  society  and  educated  downward — but 
never  reached  the  bottom. 

Let  us  look  at  the  census  of  the  United  States  for  1860. 
It  shows  that  the  six  New  England  States  had  a popula- 
tion of  3,135,388,  lacking  only  180,796  of  being  three 
times  as  large  as  that  of  the  white  inhabitants  of  Virginia 
— 1,105,453.  In  New  England  we  find  of  this  popula- 
tion 81,576  persons,  native-born,  over  twenty  years  of  age, 
who  could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  also  of  foreigners 
75,554  of  the  same  age,  who  were  in  a similar  condition ; 
thus  about  fifteen-sixteenths  of  this  illiteracy  belonged  to 
foreigners,  a large  immigration  of  whom  had  been  pour- 
ing into  these  States  ior  forty  years.  For  the  most  part, 
these  people  paid  little  or  no  attention  to  the  education 
of  their  children.  No  doubt  a very  large  proportion  of 
these  illiterates,  though  native- born,  were  the  immediate 
descendants  of  these  immigrants.  We  now  turn  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  there  we  find  74,055  white  native-born  persons, 
over  twenty  years  of  age,  who  could  neither  read  nor 
write,  and  of  foreigners  3,152 — that  is,  about  one-twenty- 
fourth  part. 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1860. 


860 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVII. 

1860. 


In  Hew  England  we  find  that  of  persons  over  twenty 
years  of  age  only  one  of  the  native-born  in  thirty-eight 
and  four-tenths  was  unable  to  read  and  write,  while  in 
Virginia  of  the  same  class  there  was  one  in  fifteen.  Of  the 
illiterates  in  the  former  abont  fifteen-sixteenths  were 
foreigners  ; in  the  latter  they  were  about  one  in  twenty- 
four.  Of  the  entire  population  of  the  free  States  of  the 
Old  Thirteen  we  find  one  in  thirty -eight  unable  to  read 
and  write ; of  whites  in  the  corresponding  slave  States, 
one  in  fifteen.  Of  the  illiterates  of  the  former  States 
eleverirfourteenths  were  foreigners,  and  in  the  correspond- 
ing latter  States  they  were  one  in  twenty-two.  In  the 
free  States  admitted  after  the  Revolution  we  find  one 
illiterate  in  thirty -three  of  the  population  ; of  the  whites 
in  the  corresponding  slave  States,  one  in  sixteen  ’ in  the 
former  one-third  of  this  class  were  foreigners,  in  the 
latter  one-fourteenth. 

Under  such  influences  it  was  not  strange  that  so  many 
of  the  white  inhabitants  of  the  slave  States  were  not 
readers,  much  less  thinkers.  Had  the  mass  been  a read- 
ing people,  and  in  consequence  reasoners,  with  books  and 
newspapers  in  every  household,  they  never  could  have 
been  induced,  much  less  forced,  into  an  attempt  to  destroy 
the  Union  in  order  to  perpetuate  slavery,  and  surely  not 
in  support  of  a theoretical  interpretation  of  the  constitu- 
tion in  respect  to  State  Rights.  The  great  majority  of 
those  migrating  from  the  old  to  the  new  States  or  Terri- 
tories, in  order  to  secure  a climate  to  which  they  were 
accustomed,  passed  almost  entirely  along  the  same  paral- 
lels of  latitude  on  which  they  had  lived,  and  as  they  car- 
ried with  them  their  institutions  and  habits,  the  contrast 
in  respect  to  education  and  its  results,  as  revealed  by  the 
census  of  1860,  was  equally  great  between  the  new  free 
and  slave  States  as  that  between  the  Old  Thirteen.  Had 
common  schools  been  as  well  supported  and  atcended, 
even  by  the  whites , in  the  slave  as  in  the  free  States  for 


THE  PEOPLE  DECEIVED — BENEVOLENT  OPERATIONS. 


861 


the  last  century,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  system  of  slavery  caAP. 

could  have  reached  its  vast  proportions,  and  more  likely  it  

might  so  far  have  passed  away  as  not  to  be  a disturbing 
element  in  the  nation,  much  less  that  for  its  protection  and 
extension  a war  should  be  inaugurated. 

The  general  intelligence  of  the  Northern  portion  of  the 
country  affected  its  material  progress ; the  people  of  mod- 
erate means  were  self-respecting  and  industrious,  and  their 
material  progress  was  continuous  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. In  the  Southern  portion  the  people  of  moderate 
means  unfortunately  labored  under  great  disadvantages. 

They  were  for  the  most  part  wanting  in  that  general  intel- 
ligence needed  to  secure  success,  and  were  stigmatized  as 
the  “ white  trash.”  With  them  industry  was  an  irksome 
necessity,  since  they  looked  upon  manual  labor  as  the  spe- 
cial province  of  the  slave,  and  therefore  degrading.  The 
dignity  of  the  intelligent  farmer  or  mechanic,  who  read 
books,  educated  his  children  and  obtained  knowledge  of 
passing  events  by  reading  the  newspapers,  was  almost  un- 
known to  them.  This  was  their  great  misfortune ; the 
result  of  a disregard  of  their  interests  and  their  children’s 
practiced  for  generations  by  their  rulers. 

For  many  years  previous  to  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion 
Northern  newspapers  not  pleasing  to  certain  leaders  were 
virtually  prohibited  in  the  South,  and  by  this  means  it  was 
easy  to  deceive  the  non-slaveowners  in  respect  to  the  true 
sentiments  of  the  Northern  people.  In  its  influence  upon 
society  the  system  of  slavery  recognized  but  two  classes : 
those  who  owned  slaves  and  those  who  did  not.  The  for- 
mer claimed  to  be  the  aristocracy,  and  in  their  hands  were 
the  offices  of  state.  Even  wealth  invested  in  lands  and 
slaves  gave  the  possessor  a higher  social  position  than  the 
same  amount  acquired  by  the  industry  of  the  merchant  or 
any  other  occupation. 

The  mass  of  the  Southern  people  were  grossly  deceived 
by  those  who  represented  the  people  of  the  North  as  hostile 
to  them ; on  the  contrary,  the  sympathies  of  the  Christian 


862 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICANS  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1857. 


1844. 


public  of  the  free  States  had  been  unusually  drawn  out  to- 
ward their  fellow-citizens  of  the  South.  They  appreciated 
the  difficulties  under  which  they  labored  in  respect  to  re- 
ligious privileges ; how  they  had  never  been  trained,  but  to 
a very  limited  extent,  either  to  support  schools  or  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Benevolent  societies  (such  as 
the  American  Tract,  Home  Missionary,  Sunday  School 
Union  and  others)  labored  for  years  to  diffuse  religious 
truths  among  the  mass  of  the  Southern  people,  especially 
the  whites  of  moderate  means,  up  to  the  time  when  their 
efforts  were  materially  interfered  with  by  political  leaders 
who  wished  the  relations  of  friendship  and  intercourse  with 
the  North  to  cease,  as  an  aid  to  the  accomplishment  of 
their  secret  plan  to  break  up  the  Union.  Without  going 
into  details,  these  leaders  assumed  that  the  intercourse  be- 
tween the  two  sections  by  means  of  these  operations  did  or 
would  interfere  with  slavery,  and  their  benevolent  work 
was  gradually  restrained  to  such  an  extent  that  when  the 
rebellion  began  it  had  nearly  ceased,  although,  owing  to 
intimate  commercial  relations,  the  merchants  of  Northern 
cities  were  more  than  usually  liberal  in  aiding  the  benevo- 
lent and  religious  institutions  of  the  South.  Many  other 
efforts  were  made  to  alienate  the  Southern  people  from  the 
Northern  ; parents  were  urged  not  to  send  their  daughters 
to  schools  or  their  sons  to  colleges  in  the  free  States ; the 
separation  of  religious  denominations  into  Southern  or 
Northern  was  looked  upon  with  pleasure  by  these  leaders ; 
as  well  as  the  alienation  of  churches  of  the  same  denomina- 
tion. Only  one  denomination — the  Methodist — divided  on 
account  of  slavery  alone  : in  accordance  with  the  Discipline 
of  that  church  a bishop  has  jurisdiction  in  all  the  States 
equally,  and  in  this  instance  a slave-holding  bishop  became 
the  occasion  of  the  division  of  the  denomination  into  the 
Churches  North  and  South.  Likewise,  owing  to  the  absence 
of  a national  system  of  finances,  the  moneyed  interests  of 
the  country  had  not  so  great  inducement  to  unite  in  pre- 
serving the  Union  as  they  would  have  had  under  a banking 


SLAVERY  DISCUSSED. 


863 


system  by  means  of  which  the  rate  of  exchange  in  com- 
mercial transactions  between  different  portions  of  the 
Union  would  have  been  merely  nominal.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  rebellion,  and  for  years  previous,  the 
high  rate  of  exchange  through  the  medium  of  State 
banks  was  a heavy  tax  on  the  mercantile  interest's  of  the 
whole  country. 

Previous  to  1826  the  system  of  slavery  was  acknowl- 
edged to  be  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity ; and 
among  thoughtful  business  men  or  planters  it  was  recog- 
nized as  a wasteful  system  of  labor.  When  a Northern 
member  proclaimed  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives that  slavery,  44  while  it  subsists  where  it  sub- 
sists, its  duties  are  presupposed  and  sanctioned  by  reli- 
gion,” the  sentiment  was  repudiated  by  the  leading 
Southern-  statesmen.  John  Randolph,  in  one  of  his 
pungent  remarks,  exclaimed : 44  Sir,  I envy  neither  the 
head  nor  the  heart  of  that  man  from  the  North  who  rises 
to  defend  slavery  upon  principle.”  In  the  discussions 
held  hitherto  the  subject  had  been  treated  almost  entirely 
in  respect  to  its  political  and  economical  bearings,  its 
moral  character  being  for  the  most  part  assumed.  Its 
unwritten,  inner  history,  as  a moral  evil  in  domestic  re- 
lations, was  infinitely  worse  than  that  of  its  economical ; 
as  in  this  form  it  permeated  society  and  poisoned  it  at 
the  fountain-head — the  family. 

After  the  failure  of  Nullification  the  form  of  the  dis- 
cussion changed  from  the  economical  more  to  the  moral 
aspects  of  slavery,  which  now  found  advocates  who  con- 
tended that  the  system  was  not  inconsistent  with  the 
teachings  of  the  Bible.  In  opposition  to  this  the  Aboli- 
tionists took  a decided  stand.  The  pioneer  in  this  move- 
ment was  Benjamin  Lundy,  who  was  soon  joined  by 
William  Lloyd  Garrison  ; the  former  dying,  the  latter 
continued  with  untiring  zeal  the  conflict  till  the  end  was 
attained.  Their  efforts,  feeble  at  first,  were  made  by 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1844. 


Mar.  9, 
1826. 


1828 

to 

1868. 


864 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS'  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1828 

to 

1863. 


means  of  newspapers  and  periodicals  of  quite  limited  cir- 
culation ; to  these  were  added  lectures  or  speeches,  and 
the  formation  of  anti-slavery  societies  throughout  the 
free  States  : and  this  continued  for  a generation.1 

The  Abolitionists  made  appeals  to  the  slaveholders 
themselves  to  take  the  initiative  in  emancipating  their 
slaves,  and  in  recognizing  on  the  score  of  humanity  the 
inalienable  rights  of  the  negro  as  a man,  and  the  sinful- 
ness of  holding  him  in  bondage.  Their  leading  mem- 
bers were  specially  careful  to  violate  no  law,  but  labor 
for  the  accomplishment  of  their  object  only  by  the 
presentation  of  the  truth  as  they  believed  it ; they 
used  only  moral  means  to  secure  their  end,  with  but 
one  exception — that  of  John  Brown.  They  had  them- 
selves so  clear  conceptions  of  their  own  duty  in  the 
premises  that  they  became  indignant  at  the  slowness  of 
the  conservatives  in  the  church,  wTlio  were  unwilling  to 
aid  emancipation  in  the  way  marked  out  by  these  enthu- 
siastic and  self-appointed  leaders.  Nor  is  it  remarkable 
that  the  prejudices  of  the  former  were  roused  by  the 
abuse  they  received,  and  by  the  infidelity  avowed  by 
many  of  the  Abolitionists.  The  latter  were  intensely 
earnest ; they  believed  every  word  they  said.  Their 
startling  invectives  and  fiery  eloquence  rang  throughout 
the  land  like  the  tolling  of  a midnight  tocsin.  Their 
arguments  compelled  acquiescence  in  the  unconscious 
hearer ; the  well-put  truths  they  uttered  sank  deep  into 
the  minds  of  the  people,  like  seed  in  a fertile  soil,  to  be 
vivified  and  brought  into  life  under  other  conditions.2 

The  slaveholders  demanded  acquiescence  on  the  part 
of  Northern  merchants  in  the  laws  of  Congress  designed 
to  return  fugitive  slaves,  and  to  protect  the  system  and 
further  its  interests — no  others  would  they  patronize. 
Competition  in  business  in  the  Southern  trade  at  the 


; Hist.  pp.  830,  835. 


2 Hist.  pp.  885,  886. 


GROUNDS  OF  DISSATISFACTION. 


865 


time  was  not  so  much  in  cheapening  goods  as  in  length- 
ening credits.  If  a publisher  issued  a book  or  a periodi- 
cal in  which  were  criticisms  adverse  to  the  system,  even 
by  implication,  the  newspapers  of  the  South  warned  their 
readers  against  buying  any  books  whatever  of  the  of- 
fender. These  demands,  with  others  of  a political  char- 
acter, prepared  the  reading  people  of  the  free  States  to 
take  their  stand  when  the  crisis  came.  It  was  not  till 
the  deliberate  firing  on  Sumter  revealed  its  true  spirit 
that  the  mass  of  intelligent  people  in  the  North  recog- 
nized fully  its  deadly  hostility  to  right  and  justice.  This 
truth,  like  an  intuition,  flashed  in  their  minds  and  con- 
science, and  at  once  increased  the  number  of  its  enemies 
a hundred-fold.  Though  the  great  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple believed  the  system  to  be  a moral,  political  and 
economical  evil,  they  were  perplexed  as  to  the  remedies 
to  be  applied  in  its  removal.  It  was  the  farthest  from 
their  intentions  that  it  should  be  removed  by  the  horrors 
of  war.  They  thought  of  no  other  means  than  moral, 
and  certainly  not  by  infringing  the  right  of  the  slave- 
owner as  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  and  the  laws 
made  under  it.  They  hoped  that  the  humane  spirit  of 
Christianity  would  finally  abolish  the  system ; but  in 
truth  the  enactments  of  laws  on  the  subject  in  the  slave 
States  were  becoming  harsher  and  harsher  every  year. 
It  remained  for  the  slaveowners  to  place  themselves  in  a 
position  which  rid  the  country  of  the  evil. 

Another  ground  of  dissatisfaction  was  the  progress  of 
the  free  States  in  material  wealth  and  population.  From 
about  1825  there  had  been  a large  emigration  from  the  Old 
World,  chiefly  from  Ireland,  and  mostly  unskilled  laborers ; 
nearly  all  these  settled  in  the  free  States,  where  they  found 
employment  principally  in  digging  canals  and  building 
railroads.  Scarcely  any  of  these  made  their  home  in  the 
States  where  slavery  existed,  because  of  the  stigma  resting 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1828 

to 

1863. 


866 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVH. 


1844. 


upon  manual  labor,  and  also  of  the  lack  of  enterprise  in 
that  section  to  furnish  them  employment.  Meanwhile  the 
intelligence  and  industry  of  the  free  States  were  carrying 
them  far  in  advance  in  the  enterprises  of  mining,  manufac- 
turing and  commerce.  They  had  taken  possession  of  the 
region  north  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the  Great  River,  and 
of  the  northwest.  These  plains  were  covered  with  farms, 
and  immense  crops  were  harvested  by  means  of  machinery 
requiring  not  one  eighth  as  many  laborers  as  under  the  old 
system — the  sickle  and  the  scythe.  An  outlet  had  been 
obtained  for  their  grains  to  Europe,  almost  a rival  of 
cotton  as  an  article  of  commerce.  Thus  the  progress  of 
the  free  States,  as  revealed  every  ten  years  by  the  census, 
was  unparalleled ; and  in  consequence  of  the  increase  of 
inhabitants  they  had  in  the  same  ratio  increased  their 
number  of  members  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Though  in  1860  the  slaves  had  twenty  representatives  in  the 
House,  and  these  elected  by  their  owners,  yet  the  majority 
of  the  members  from  the  free  States  was  overwhelming, 
and  could  never  be  overcome,  bui  was  increasing  from 
census  to  census,  while  the  equality  of  members  in  the 
Senate  was  gone  forever.  The  leaders  foreseeing  this  result 
— the  termination  of  their  power  to  rule  the  National  Gov- 
ernment— determined  to  change  their  tactics  in  order  to 
secure  their  ends. 

In  accordance  with  the  sentiment  held  by  the  people 
of  the  free  States  of  non-interference  with  slavery  in  the 
States  where  it  existed,  Congress  in  no  instance  ever 
passed  a law  that  was  intended  to  thus  interfere ; while 
the  Territories,  the  common  property  of  the  whole  Union, 
were  governed  under  the  Constitution  by  Congress  alone, 
by  means  of  laws  of  its  own  enactment,  and  by  officers 
legally  appointed  by  the  President.  The  disposal  of  these 
Territories  was  thus  given  to  Congress  as  the  common 
property  of  the  nation,  under  the  control  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  whole  people;  and,  as  in  other  cases,  in 
accordance  with  the  cardinal  principle  of  the  National 


COMPBOMISES. 


867 


Government,  that  the  majority  should  rule.  Hitherto,  chap. 

when  differences  of  opinion  or  policy  occurred,  the  diffl 

culties  were  arranged  by  compromises.  Such  was  the  case 
in  the  famous  Missouri  Compromise.1  And  in  the  days 
of  South  Carolina  nullification  by  a compromise  in  respect 
to  the  tariff.2  In  the  annexation  of  Texas,  a Territory 
more  than  five  times  as  great  as  that  of  New  York  or 
Pennsylvania,  the  same  spirit  prevailed;  and  that  Terri- 
tory was  handed  over  to  the  slaveholders  for  their  exclusive 
benefit,  though  it  had  cost  thousands  of  precious  lives  in 
the  war  which  ensued  with  Mexico,  and  an  immense 
amount  of  national  treasure.  This  concession  was  made 
by  the  free  States,  when  every  intelligent  person  knew  that 
the  profit  would  inure  to  the  slave  States  alone,  and  to 
the  extension  of  their  system  of  enforced  labor.  The 
acquisition  of  California  was  not  then  in  contemplation, 
and  this  concession  was  an  exhibition  of  good  will  by  the 
North  toward  the  South.  The  population  of  Texas, 
though  its  territory  was  so  extensive,  would  only  entitle 
her  to  come  into  the  Union  as  a single  State,  and  not  five, 
into  which  it  could  be  divided  in  accordance  with  the 
articles  of  annexation.3  But  California,  owing  to  peculiar 
circumstances,  soon  acquired  the  requisite  population  to 
make  a State,  and  was  admitted  into  the  Union;  her 
people  by  their  vote  prohibiting  slavery,  preserving  the 
balance  of  power  between  the  free  and  the  slave  States 
in  the  United  States  Senate.  With  this  result  the  advo- 
cates of  slavery  were  not  satisfied,  and  they  resolved  to 
make  another  attempt  to  secure  the  coveted  majority. 

The  plan  now  adopted  was  to  repeal  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise,4 which  had  remained  intact  for  thirty-four  years, 
and  secure  for  their  purpose  the  region  west  of  that  State. 

This  repeal  raised  the  question,  especially  in  the  free 
States.  Will  the  advocates  of  slavery  never  be  satisfied  ? 

Are  the  politicians,  for  personal  ambition,  to  keep  the 

> Hist.  pp.  693-695.  1 Hist.  pp.  723-726. 

'J  Hist,  pp.  748-749.  ' Hist.  pp.  846-847  and  851, 


868 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1844. 


nation  continually  embroiled  in  this  question  ? It  was 
only  about  ten  years  since  Texas  had  been  yielded  to  the 
slave  owners — and  yet  the  cry  was  for  more  territory! 

The  people  of  the  free  States,  as  they  could  not  restore 
the  “Missouri  Compromise,”  were  forced  to  accept  the 
“squatter  sovereignty”  theory,  and  they  put  it  in  practice 
by  sending  settlers  to  Kansas  Territory  who  intended  to 
make  it  their  home  and  that  of  their  children ; and,  com- 
plying with  the  law  in  word  and  in  spirit,  when  the  time 
came  they  voted  to  come  into  the  Union  a free  State.1 
These  various  measures  to  extend  the  system  of  servitude 
into  the  Territories  excited  an  unusual  resistance  in  the 
free  States,  and  a party  was  formed — the  Republican — to 
prevent  by  legal  means  that  result.  The  pledges  of  the 
new  party  were  not  to  interfere  with  the  institution  in  the 
States,  but  only  treat  it,  in  respect  to  the  Territories,  as 
Congress  had  been  accustomed  to  treat  other  questions, 
subject  to  the  will  of  the  majority,  in  accordance  with  the 
received  notions  of  the  true  rule  of  the  people.  And  in 
good  faith  the  free  States  accepted  the  principle  that  the 
inhabitants  of  a Territory  about  to  become  a State  might 
determine  for  themselves  whether  it  should  come  in  free 
or  slave.  It  was  fondly  hoped  this  would  end  the  contro- 
versy. The  slaveholders  were  still  unsatisfied,  and  they 
prepared  to  cany  out  their  plans  of  seceding  from  the 
Union.  The  census  of  1860  was  about  to  show  a still 
greater  increase  of  population  in  the  free  States,  and  in 
consequence  a still  greater  majority  in  the  House ; while 
the  ratio  of  their  material  prosperity  was  greater  than 
ever.  The  same  year  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  was 
elected  President,  and  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of  Maine,  Vice 
President.  This  was  proclaimed  a sectional  election,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  destroying  slavery  and  ruining  the 
South.  It  is  proper  to  notice  the  means  used  to  obtain 
this  result. 


» Hist.  pp.  851,  878. 


PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION. 


869 


Plans  were  laid  to  secede  long  before  the  time  the  chap 
political  parties  were  accustomed  to  make  their  nomina 

L 1 -j  o/>a 

tions,  and  it  was  openly  proclaimed  that  if  an  “ Abolition- 
ist”— thus  designating  a Republican — should  be  elected, 
the  slave  States  would  secede.  When  the  Democratic 
Convention  assembled  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  for 
the  purpose  of  nominating  a candidate  for  the  presidency, 
it  was  soon  discovered  that  -ulterior  views  were  entertained 
by  certain  members  from  the  extreme  Southern  States. 

These  demanded  of  their  fellow  members  from  the  free 
States  expression  on  the  subject  of  slavery  contrary  to 
their  convictions,  and  they  also  endeavored  to  repudiate 
Mr.  Douglas,  the  most  popular  candidate  of  the  party 
in  the  free  States.  The  disunionists,  unable  to  enforce 
their  own  plans,  seceded  from  the  Convention,  and  thus 
prevented  a nomination.  The  united  Democratic  party 
could,  with  ease,  have  elected  their  candidate,  but  should 
he  not  be  a pronounced  secessionist  the  Southern  wing 
determined  to  divide  the  party,  and  thus  secure  the 
election  of  a Republican,  and  seize  upon  that  as  a pretext 
for  breaking  up  the  Union. 

The  Convention  thus  disorganized  did  not  make  a nom- 
ination, but  adjourned  to  meet  at  Baltimore  June  18th,  and 
the  seceders  to  meet  at  Richmond,  June  11th:  Mr.  Douglas 
was  nominated  by  the  conservatives,  and  John  C.  Brecken- 
ridge  by  the  seceders,  or  disunionists. 

The  candidates  for  the  presidency  were  now  Abraham 
Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  nominated  by  the  Republicans;  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  of  the  same  State,  John  C.  Breckenridge,  of 
Kentucky,  and  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  on  a platform  of 
the  “ Union  and  the  Constitution.”  On  the  sixth  of 
November  the  election  was  held  and  Mr.  Lincoln  was  Nov. 
chosen,  he  having  180  electoral  votes;  Mr.  Breckenridge  72, 

Mr.  Bell  39,  and  Mr.  Douglas  12.  Of  the  popular  vote  Mr. 
Lincoln,  1,857,610;  Mr.  Douglas,  1,365,976;  Mr.  Brecken- 
ridge, 847,953,  and  Mr.  Bell  590,631.  Owing  to  the 
system  of  electing  by  States,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  a majority  of 


870 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS'  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1860. 


the  electoral  vote,  while  he  had  only  a plurality  of  the  popu- 
lar vote,  and  Mr.  Douglas  had  only  12  electoral  votes  to  Mr. 
Breckenridge’s  72,  while  the  formers  majority  over  the  lat- 
ter in  the  popular  vote  was  more  than  half  a million.  It  is 
supposed  that  not  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  popular  vote 
for  Breckenridge  really  desired  secession,  and  then  the  vote 
in  favor  of  Union  was  nearly  seven  to  one;  and  even  if  they 
all  desired  it,  the  vote  was  then  about  four  and  a half  to 
one. 

The  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the 
secessionists,  especially  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
which  city  had  been  foremost  in  these  hostile  demonstra- 
tions against  the  National  Government.  A State  Conven- 
tion, as  soon  as  the  result  of  the  presidential  election  was 
known,  assembled  in  Charleston,  and  declared  that  “ the 
union  before  existing  between  South  Carolina  and  other 
States  under  the  name  of  the  United  States  of  America  was 
dissolved.”  The  sympathizers  of  the  movement  in  the 
“Cotton  States”  sent  telegraphic  messages  of  congratula- 
tion to  South  Carolina  on  her  prompt  action  in  seceding, 
and  also  promised  aid ; this  was  done  to  manufacture  pub- 
lic sentiment.  The  stratagem  did  not  fully  succeed,  the 
mass  of  the  Southern  people  were  by  no  means  in  favor  of 
the  disruption  of  the  Union  ; the  moderate  men  urged  that 
nothing  should  be  done  harshly  or  hurriedly,  their  sentiment 
was:  “wait  till  Mr.  Lincoln  is  inaugurated,  and  commits 
the  overt  act.”  Virginia  urged  that  time  should  be  given 
for  an  effort  in  Congress  to  obtain  certain  measures ; such 
as  the  repeal  of  the  Personal  Liberty  bills  in  some  of  the  free 
States ; and  a pledge  that  the  fugitive  slave  law  would  be 
henceforth  more  promptly  enforced ; and  the  concession 
that  the  Constitution  authorized  slavery  in  the  territories, 
and  the  protection  of  slaves  as  property. 

The  secessionists  did  not  charge  that  the  presidential 
election  was  unfair  or  illegal,  but  they  assumed  that  the 
administration  about  to  come  into  power  would  do  some- 
thing especially  against  slavery.  The  “Cotton  States” 


PERSONAL  LIBERTY  BILLS — THE  UNION  MEN. 


871 


complained  bitterly  that  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  not  chap* 

promptly  enforced  in  the  free  States,  but  was  obstructed  by  

the  Personal  liberty  bills  ; yet,  the  truth  was,  very  few  slaves  1860# 
from  the  Cotton  States  ever  reached  the  free  States.  The 
runaways  were  from  the  border  States,  who  were  not 
so  strenuous  ou  the  subject  as  to  wish,  on  that  account,  to 
break  up  the  Union,  but  proposed  to  remedy  the  evil  com- 
plained of  by  influencing  Congress.  The  Personal  Liberty 
bills  in  the  free  States  were  a dictate  of  humanity  and  were 
designed  to  accomplish  two  objects : one,  to  prevent  the 
colored  freemen  of  the  free  States  being  kidnapped,  and  the 
other  to  secure  to  those  who  were  charged  with  fleeing  from 
slavery  a fair  and  impartial  trial  as  guaranteed  to  every  per- 
son by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  If  it  was 
established  that  the  person  thus  seized  had  escaped  from 
service,  these  laws  did  not  forbid  the  rendition  of  the  fugi- 
tive to  the  person  claiming  such  service.  The  Fugitive 
Slave  law  consigned  the  person  thus  seized  to  a commis- 
sioner to  be  handed  over  to  slavery  in  such  haste  as  to  ex- 
clude him  from  the  benefit  of  a fair  trial,  at  the  place  of 
his  residence,  where  he  was  known  and  could  obtain  wit- 
nesses. 

Meantime,  by  high  handed  measures  the  Union  men  in 
the  Cotton  States  were  gradually  coerced  and  rendered 
almost  powerless  under  the  persistent  efforts  of  the  seces- 
sionists. Throughout  the  slave  States  the  non-slaveowners, 
almost  universally,  were  Union  men,  and  opposed  to  seces- 
sion, and  looked  upon  the  war  of  the  rebellion  as  designed 
hy  those  who  commenced  it  to  perpetuate  and  extend  that 
system.  In  voting,  when  they  had  opportunity  they  re- 
jected the  principle  of  secession  ; neither  did  they,  as  a class, 
enter  the  rebel  army  until  forced  into  its  ranks  by  an  unre- 
lenting conscription. 

It  is  strange  that  these  leaders  were  unable  or  unwilling 
to  see  that  the  decline,  which  was  noticeable  forty  years 
before,  of  the  material  prosperity  of  the  slave  States,  was 
owing  to  that  wasteful  system  ; and  still  more  strange  that  in 


872 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  the  face  of  these  facts  they  were  continually  devising  means 

to  extend  a system  of  labor  which  failed  to  give  them  success 

1860  0 

’ as  a people.  An  exponent  of  the  basis  of  the  confederacy 

may  be  found  in  an  address  by  its  Vice  President  and  ablest 
statesman,  A.  H.  Stephens  ; he  proclaims  the  true  condition 

1861  of  the  negro  to  be  that  of  servitude  as  an  inferior  being ; 

Mar.  alluding  to  the  United  States  Constitution  and  its  framers 

31*  he  said : “ This  stone  (slavery)  which  was  rejected  by  the 
first  builders  is  become  the  chief  stone  of  the  corner  in  our 
new7  edifice.”  And  these  disunionists  went  to  war  to  protect 
and  extend  slavery ; the  National  Government,  as  a matter 
of  defense,  to  protect  the  public  property  and  to  defend  the 
Union  of  the  States. 

The  Governors  of  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Mississippi,  Virginia,  Louisiana,  and  Alabama  took  measures 
to  have  special  sessions  of  the  Legislatures  called,  or  to  have 
conventions  held  the  members  of  which  were  to  be  elected 
by  the  people.  The  States  of  North  Carolina  and  Arkan- 
sas did  not  take  action  by  their  Legislatures,  as  the  ma- 
jority of  the  people  were  opposed  to  secession.  Thus  was 
Tennessee  also  loyal  to  the  Union.  This  loyalty  was 
greatly  strengthened  by  Andrew  Johnson  in  the  United 
States  Senate  and  Emerson  Etheridge  in  the  House. 

The  doctrine  that  the  President  could  not  coerce  a 
State  was  strenuously  urged  as  a political  truth  ; and  it 
gave  the  disunionists  great  encouragement  to  know  that 
Mr.  Buchanan,  the  President,  was  understood  to  hold  that 
opinion,  hence  it  became  necessary  to  press  matters  in 
order  to  complete  the  secession  movement  before  Mr.,  Lin- 
coln’s inauguration.  Meetings  to  promote  the  cause  were 
held  in  prominent  places  in  the  Cotton  States,  and  the 
most  remarkable  misrepresentations  were  put  forth  in 
respect  to  the  action  and  the  sentiments  of  the  people  of 
the  free  States  ; and  these  passed  without  contradiction, 
for  that  was  prevented  bv  the  exclusion  of  Northern  decla- 
rations to  the  contrary  and  Northern  newspapers.  It  is 


FEELING  IN  THE  BORDER  STATES 


873 


not  strange  that  by  these  means  the  people,  especially  the 
least  intelligent,  were  grossly  deceived. 

The  majority  of  the  people  of  the  border  States  was 
opposed  to  these  disunion  measures ; they  knew  that  in 
case  of  war  between  the  two  sections  they  must  suffer  most 
from  their  geographical  position,  and  they  did  not  wish  to 
be  made  a shield  for  their  rash  neighbors.  These  secession 
measures  were  planned  and  carried  out  by  comparatively 
very  few  men,  the  people  scarcely  having  an  opportunity 
to  take  action  on  the  subject.  When  the  Colonies  com- 
plained to  England  the  people  had  the  opportunity  of 
freely  expressing  their  views. 

The  events  transpiring  had  an  influence  upon  the 
finances  of  the  country.  Business  began  to  decline,  and 
capital,  ever  sensitive,  to  withdraw  from  investment.  The 
vast  quantities  of  merchandise  on  hand  were  thrown  upon 
the  market  both  by  the  importer  and  the  domestic  manu- 
facturer. Early  in  November  almost  the  only  trade  with 
the  South  was  that  of  fire-arms  ; and  former  debts  from 
that  section  were  unpaid,  while  exchange  was  so  high  as  to 
be  almost  ruinous  to  the  honorable  Southern  merchants 
who  wished  to  pay  their  Northern  creditors.  Meanwhile 
some  of  the  Southern  State  Legislatures  authorized  the 
suspension  of  specie  payments  by  the  banks,  and  also  a 
suspension  of  payments  of  debts  due  Northern  creditors. 
This  state  of  trade  affected  the  National  Government,  and 
it  was  forced  to  borrow7  money  at  high  rates  of  interest  to 
pay  the  current  expenses. 

The  forts,  arsenals,  and  navy-yards  in  the  South  had 
very  few  soldiers  in  them  to  protect  the  United  States 
property ; only  eighty  men  were  in  Fort  Moultrie  in 
Charleston  Harbor,  where,  from  indications,  would  be  the 
first  assault  upon  the  authority  of  the  Government.  The 
venerable  Lieutenant-General  Scott  urged  the  President  for 
permission  to  throw  a sufficient  number  of  men  into  the 
fort  to  defend  it  from  any  attack  the  insurgents  might 
make.  But  in  vain.  The  President  in  his  timidity  and 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1860. 


Nov. 


874 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  trammels  of  party  would  not  comply  with  this  patriotic 

■ request.  The  loyal  people  were  astounded  at  this  apathy 

or  remission  of  duty. 

The  Legislature  of  South  Carolina  provided  for  the 
military  defense  of  the  State ; they  were  henceforth  to  be 
“a  people  happy,  prosperous,  and  free.”  The  army  and 
navy  officers — natives  of  the  State,  more  than  sixty  in 
number — were  urged  to  resign  their  commissions  and  join 
the  ranks  of  secession.  “ Vigilance  Associations”  were 
formed  throughout  the  State  ; these  assumed  “ full  power 
to  decide  all  cases  that  might  be  brought  before  them,” 
“ power  to  arrest  all  suspicious  white  persons  and  bring 
them  before  the  Executive  Committee  for  trial,”  to  put 
down  all  negro  preachings,  prayer-meetings,  and  all  con- 
gregations of  negroes,  that  they  (the  Associations)  might 
deem  unlawful.  Under  these  committees  great  numbers — . 
because  they  were  from  the  North — of  men  and  women, 
teachers,  preachers,  travelers,  and  others  were  driven  from 
the  State. 

Dec,  The  second  session  of  the  36th  Congress  began,  and 
3*  President  Buchanan  sent  in  his  Annual  Message,  in  which 
he  ascribed  the  existing  evils  between  the  States  to  the 
“ violent  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  throughout  the 
North  for  the  last  quarter  of  a century,  which  had  at 
length  produced  its  malign  influence  on  the  slaves,  and 
inspired  them  with  some  vague  notions  of  freedom.”  He 
announced  that  the  revenue  must  be  collected  ; he  denied 
the  right  of  a State  to  secede,  but  he  had  no  authority 
under  the  Constitution  to  coerce  a State — a doctrine  very 
consoling  to  those  who  had  entered  upon  the  treasonable 
attempt  to  break  up  the  Union.  He  suggested  that  the 
late  election  of  President  did  not  afford  just  cause  for  dis- 
solving the  Union  ; that  the  incoming  President  could  not, 
if  he  wished,  interfere  with  slavery  ; he  was  the  executor 
of  the  laws,  not  the  maker  nor  the  expounder.  These 
facts  the  disunion  leaders  well  knew,  but  they  were  encour- 
aged by  this  announcement  of  non-coercion  to  urge  the 


OCCUPATION  OF  FORT  SUMTER. 


875 


slave  States  into  secession  before  the  new  President  was 
inaugurated. 

Discussions  continued  in  both  Houses  of  Congress ; 
resolutions  in  great  numbers  were  introduced  by  the  mem- 
bers, to  be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  Thirty-three, 
which  had  been  appointed  on  the  state  of  the  country. 
These  resolutions  show  the  state  of  feeling  of  the  members 
on  the  subject,  and  indeed  of  all  the  people,  their  constitu- 
ents. Efforts  were  made  by  the  committee  to  arrive  at  a 
satisfactory  result  by  guaranteeing  what  the  slaveowners 
desired,  but  it  was  soon  seen  that  all  conciliatory  measures 
were  vain;  the  secessionists  did  not  want  compromises; 
nothing  short  of  absolute  separation  would  satisfy  them ; 
and  the  thinking  portion  of  the  people  saw  that  no  conces- 
sions would  avert  the  calamity  of  an  attempt  to  destroy  the 
Union. 

Eloyd,  the  Secretary  of  War,  early  in  December  passed 
over  to  the  Governor  of  South  Carolina  the  United  States 
arsenal  at  Charleston  under  the  pretext  of  preventing  its 
being  seized  by  the  mob.  Here  were  70,000  stand  of  arms, 
the  quotas  designed  for  several  Southern  States.  On  the 
day  on  which  South  Carolina  seceded  he  sent  an  order  to 
the  commandant  of  the  Alleghany  arsenal,  near  Pittsburg, 
“ to  ship  78  guns  to  Newport,  near  Galveston,  Texas,  and 
46  guns  to  Ship  Island,  near  Balize,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  river.  ” These  forts  were  far  from  being  finished 
or  ready  for  their  guns,  but  they  were  to  be  slyly  transferred 
to  the  secessionists.  The  loyal  people  of  Pittsburg  pro- 
tested against  the  shipment  and  the  President  counter- 
manded the  order.  These  guns  were  ten  and  eight-inch 
columbiads,  the  largest  and  finest  in  the  country. 

Three  days  after  South  Carolina  seceded  Major  Robert 
Anderson,  who  was  in  command  of  the  forts  in  Charleston 
Harbor,  dismantling  Fort  Moultrie,  spiking  the  guns  and 
burning  the  carriages,  evacuated  it,  taking  with  him  its 
munitions  of  war,  and  occupied  Fort  Sumter.  Prudence 
dictated  this  transfer,  as  no  reinforcements  came  and  Fort 


CHAP. 

lvh. 


I860. 


Dec. 

24. 


Dec. 

27. 


876 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LYH. 


1860 


Moultrie  could  easily  be  takeu  on  the  land  side,  as  that  was 
unfortified.  Castle  Pinckney,  another  fort,  was  dismantled 
in  the  same  manner. 

This  movement  created  the  most  intense  excitement 
throughout  the  land  ; the  loyal  portion  thinking  it  an  indi- 
cation that  the  government  intended  to  resist  the  insurgents. 
In  the  South  the  spirit  of  rebellion  was  more  than  ever 
rampant.  The  leaders  professed  to  believe  this  the  first 
advance  in  “coercing”  a State.  Major  Anderson  had  only 
seventy-nine  effective  men,  but  in  that  little  band  were  no 
traitors. 

Ports  Moultrie  and  Pinckney  were  at  once  occupied  by 
the  State  militia,  under  orders  from  Governor  Pickens. 
These  were  armed  from  the  United  States  arsenal.  It  had 
been  proclaimed  that  “our  young  men  will  do  the  storming 
and  escalading ; our  slaves  will  raise  the  crops,  and  make 
our  ditches,  glacis,  and  earthworks  for  our  defense.”  In 
accordance  with  this,  more  than  a thousand  negroes,  sent 
by  their  masters,  were  put  to  work  to  repair  the  forts  and 
mount  guns.  This  could  easily  have  been  prevented  by 
shells  from  Port  Sumter’s  guns,  but  Major  Anderson  had 
orders  to  act  only  on  the  defensive.  Soon  as  possible  com- 
missioners from  Charleston  came  to  Washington  and  de- 
manded of  the  President  either  to  order  Major  Anderson  to 
evacuate  all  the  forts  in  the  harbor  or  reoccupy  Fort  Moul- 
trie ! This  demand,  so  arrogant  in  its  manner  and  terms, 
was  not  granted.  From  this  time  onward  the  “vigilance 
committees”  were  a greater  terror  than  ever  to  the  Union 
men  and  women,  especially  those  of  Northern  birth.  The 
atrocities  inflicted  upon  them  and  the  free  negroes  would 
seem  incredible  in  this  age,  if  the  spirit  which  inspired 
them  is  not  recognized. 

The  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Charleston  began  to  pay 
over  to  the  State  authorities  the  duties  he  collected.  The 
President  resolved  to  collect  the  duties  on  shipboard  by 
sending  a revenue  cutter  to  lie  off  the  harbor.  He  removed 
the  Collector  from  office  and  nominated  another ; this  nom- 


COLLECTOR  OE  THE  PORT  OE  CHARLESTON — YULEE’S  LETTER.  877 


ination  he  sent  to  the  Senate  for  confirmation,  but  it  was 
rejected  by  means  of  a few  Northern  Democratic  Senators 
aiding  those  from  the  South. 

At  a caucus  held  at  Washington  by  the  Senators  from 
seven  of  the  Southern  States  it  was  resolved  to  assume,  for 
the  present,  the  political  control,  and  also  the  military 
affairs,  of  the  South ; to  advise  the  calling  of  a convention 
of  delegates  from  these  seceding  States,  to  meet  at  Mont- 
gomery on  the  13th  of  the  following  February ; to  coerce 
the  border  States  to  secede,  and  in  some  way  influence 
Maryland  into  a conflict  with  the  National  Government. 
They  were  of  the  opinion  that  by  remaining  in  the  Senate, 
though  their  States  had  seceded,  they  might  prevent  the 
passage  of  any  measures  such  as  the  Volunteer,  Force,  or 
Loan  bills,  and  thus  disable  the  incoming  administration 
from  defending  the  Government’s  authority.  In  a letter* 
written  from  Washington,  and  dated  January  7th,  Yulee, 
one  of  the  Senators  from  Florida,  says,  in  speaking  of  the 
above  bills:  “Whereas,  by  remaining  in  our  places  until 
the  4th  of  March,  it  is  thought  we  can  keep  the  hands  of 
Mr.  Buchanan  tied  and  disable  the  Republicans  from  effect- 
ing any  legislation  which  will  strengthen  the  hands  of  the 
incoming  administration.”  Yet  these  Senators  were  at  this 
very  time  under  oath  to  support  the  Constitution,  and  the 
Government.  They  assumed  that  Mi-  ^Lincolp  "v|ould  be 
compelled  to  wait  until  a special  session  or  the  new  0oi\£ 
gress  could  assemble  in  order  to  vote  supplies,  authorize  the 
necessary  military  expenses  and  calls  for  volunteers. 

These  leaders  in  only  one  State,  South  Carolina,  per- 
mitted the  people  to  vote  direct  on  the  subject  pf  secession. 
The  conventions,  to  which  the  people  elected  delegates 
with  the  understanding  that  their  action  was  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  them  for  their  approval  or  rejection,  took  the 
responsibility  to  pass  ordinances  of  secession,  upon  which 
they  did  not  dare  give  the  people  an  opportunity  to  pass 

* This  letter,  among  other  documents,  was  found  at  Fernan- 
dina,  Florida,  by  the  Union  forces. 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1861. 

Jan. 

6. 


1578 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP-  judgment  by  their  vote.  This  was  contrary  to  their  own 
— — constitutional  form  of  making  organic  changes  in  their 

1S61'  own  State  government.  Only  one  State — Louisiana in 

the  entire  South  paid  its  own  postage.  The  annual 
expense  of  carrying  the  mails  in  those  States  averaged 
annually  about  three  and  a half  million  of  dollars  more 
than  the  postage  collected.  This,  however,  was  not 
assumed  as  one  of  the  grounds  of  secession. 

The  difficulties  of  the  Kansas  question,  which  had 
lasted  over  five  years,  were  at  length  ended  by  that  Terri- 
Jan.  tory  being  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a free  State.  A 
month  later  the  Territories,  Nevada,  Colorado,  and  Daco- 
tah,  were  organized.  Congress  by  its  silence  on  the  subject 
leaving  the  question  of  slavery  to  be  acted  upon  by  the 
people  themselves,  when  they  should  apply  for  admission 
into  the  Union. 

Though  the  President  elect  had  designed  to  journey  in 
as  quiet  manner  as  possible  from  his  home  in  Springfield, 
Illinois,  to  Washington,  yet  by  the  great  anxiety  of  the 
people  to  see  him  be  was  induced  to  travel  more  slowly 
and  to  visit  various  places  on  the  route.  The  Legislatures 
of  the  States  through  which  he  was  to  pass  cordially 
invited  him  to  visit  their  assemblies  and  become  their 
guest.  On  the  morning  of  his  leaving  home  his  neighbors 
U.  crowded  to  the  depot  to  bid  him  farewell.  He  made  a 
feeling  address,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said:  “My 
friends,  no  one  not  in  my  position  can  appreciate  the 
sadness  I feel  at  this  parting.  A duty  devolves  upon  me 
which  is,  perhaps,  greater  than  that  which  has  devolved 
upon  any  other  man  since  the  days  of  Washington.  He 
never  would  have  succeeded  except  for  the  aid  of  Divine 
Providence  upon  which  at  all  times  he  relied.  I feel  that 
I can  not  succeed  without  the  same  Divine  aid  which 
sustained  him.  I hope  you,  my  friends,  will  all  pray  that 
I may  receive  that  same  Divine  assistance,  with  which 
success  is  certain.”  He  traveled  slowly  by  special  trains 
to  Washington  ; at  all  stations,  towns  and  cities,  throngs  of 


Lincoln’s  journey— confederate  constitution. 


879 


people  welcomed  him,  showing  an  intense  interest,  for  at 
no  time  previous  had  a Chief  Magistrate  entered  npon  his 
office  in  circumstances  so  perilous  to  the  nation. 

Delegates  from  six  of  the  seceded  States  assembled  in 
Convention  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  to  frame  a constitu- 
tion for  the  Confederacy.  They  copied  very  closely  that  of 
the  United  States,  only  introducing  articles  in  respect  to 
slaves  and  slavery  ; sanctioning  the  idea  of  property  in  man, 
which  idea  Madison  and  the  other  fathers  of  the  United 
States  Constitution  repudiated.  The  Constitution  of  the 
Confederate  States  in  one  article  reads;  “Uo  bill  of  at- 
tainder, or  ex-post  facto  law , or  law  denying  or  impairing 
the  right  of  property  in  negro  slaves,  shall  be  passed. 
The  convention  established  a provisional  government  and 
elected  Jetferson  Davis  President,  and  A.  H.  Stephens,  of 
Georgia,  Vice-President.  These  were  duly  inaugurated, 
Davis  making  an  address  in  which  he  assumed  the  right  of 
the  seceding  States  to  take  possession  of  the  United  States 
forts  and  property  within  their  boundaries  and  settle  for 
them  afterward  ; that  “ the  commercial  world  had  an  in- 
terest in  our  exports  (meaning  cotton)  scarcely  less  than  our 
own  he  suggested  “ the  well  known  resources  for  retalia- 
tion upon  the  commerce  of  an  enemy.” — One  of  the  most 
remarkable  fallacies  with  which  the  disunion  leaders  de- 
ceived themselves  was  that  England  would  aid  them  mate- 
rially in  order  to  obtain  cotton  for  her  factories.  Though 
the  governing  classes  in  that  country,  with  but  few  excep- 
tions, gave  the  rebellion  their  sympathy,  yet  they  were  too 
politic  to  enter  upon  war  to  obtain  cotton  from  these 
States  when  it  could  be  had  from  other  sources  at  a little 
greater  expense.  At  this  result  the  disappointment  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Confederacy  was  beyond  expression.  On  a 
par  with  this  want  of  wisdom  were  their  mistaken  views  of 
the  character  of  the  people  of  the  free  States.  They  seemed 
to  forget  that  the  industrial  activity  and  energy  which  they 
had  displayed  in  their  onward  progress  would  now  be  ap- 
plied to  putting  down  a rebellion. 


CHAP. 

LVII. 


1861. 


Feb. 

4. 


Feb. 

18. 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1861. 

Mar. 

4. 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

Lincoln’s  administration. 

The  Inauguration  — Effect  of  the  Inaugural.—  Bombardment  of  Sum. 
ter.— The  President’s  Call  for  Volunteers. — The  Responses.— Riot 
in  Baltimore. — The  Spirit  of  Loyalty.— Confederate  Congress  at 
Richmond.— FeeliDg  in  Missouri  and  Kentucky. — Advance  into 
Virginia.— Col.  Ellsworth’s  Death.— Proclamations  of  Generals.— 
Instructions  to  United  States  Ministers  Abroad.— English  Neu- 
trality.— Big  Bethel  Skirmish. — West  Virginia’s  Loyalty.— Enemy 
Driven  Out.— Battle  of  Bull  Run.— The  Effect.— Missouri —Battle 
of  Wilsoo’s  Creek. — Death  of  General  Lyon  — Kentucky’s  Legis- 
lation.—Finances  and  the  Army.— Ball’s  Bluff  Disaster.—  Hatteras 
Expedition. — Mason  and  Slidell. — Battle  of  Belmont. — The  In- 
vasion of  Kentucky.— Battle  of  Mill  Spring. — Davis’s  Special 
Message. — Meeting  of  Congress. — The  Union  Army. — Edwin  M. 
Stanton.— Capture  of  Forts  Henry  and  Don^lson.—  Confederate 
Retreat. 

The  day  of  Mr.  Lincoln’s  inauguration  drew  near ; as  it 
approached  the  painful  suspense  and  anxiety  of  the  people 
increased.  Rumors  were  afloat  of  plots  to  prevent  the  new 
President  from  assuming  office,  and  indeed  of  threatened 
injury  to  his  person.  The  military  were  called  out  under 
the  orders  of  General  Scott ; the  first  time  in  our  history 
thought  necessary  to  protect  a Chief  Magistrate  from 
banded  conspirators.  In  his  inaugural  the  President  an- 
nounced that  he  should  enforce  the  laws  of  the  Union  in 
accordance  with  his  oath  of  office.  “The  power  confided  to 
me  will  be  used  to  hold,  occupy  and  possess  the  property  aud 
places  belonging  to  the  government,  and  collect  the  duties 
and  imposts.”  Alluding  to  the  secessionists,  he  says  : “The 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  INAUGURAL — THE  CABINET. 


881 


government  will  not  assail  you ; you  can  have  no  conflict 
without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  ” His  manner 
betokened  a man  cool  and  determined,  but  of  kindly  in- 
stincts, and  one  who  fully  appreciated  the  novelty  of  his 
situation.  The  inaugural  gave  universal  satisfaction,  except 
to  those  who,  from  their  open  or  secret  opposition  to  the 
government,  would  not  approve  its  sentiments  of  loyalty. 
It  strengthened  the  Union  men  of  the  South  and  created 
a very  favorable  impression  in  the  Border  States.  But  the 
secessionists  proclaimed  it  was  a war  measure,  and  the 
Confederate  government  issued  orders  for  the  people  to 
prepare  for  the  conflict.  The  Southern  newspapers  more 
fully  expressed  the  views  of  the  disunion  leaders.  They 
urged  immediate  action ; in  the  Border  States  they  ex- 
pressed opposition  to  “ coercion” — a favorite  term  of 
those  who  wished  to  gain  time  for  the  inauguration  of  re- 
bellion. Mr.  Lincoln’s  principal  cabinet  officers  were : 
William  H.  Seward,  of  New  York,  Secretary  of  State  ; 
Salmon  P.  Chase,  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of  Treasury;  Simon 
Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  War ; Gideon 
Welles,  of  Connecticut,  Secretary  of  Navy. 

The  Confederate  government  endeavored  to  ‘ 6 coerce” 
the  Border  States  to  join  them,  by  prohibiting  the  importa- 
tion of  slaves  into  the  Confederacy  from  the  United  States, 
“ except  by  persons  emigrating  thereto  for  the  purpose  of 
settlement  or  residence.”  This  was  specially  aimed  at 
Virginia,  for  the  sale  of  surplus  negroes  from  that  State 
to  the  Cotton  States  averaged  annually  several  million 
dollars.  This  law  would  materially  affect  that  portion  of 
the  State  east  of  the  mountains,  where  the  slaves  were 
numerous,  but  not  the  portion  west,  where  there  were  but 
few,  and  where  the  people  were  almost  universally  in  favor 
of  preserving  the  integrity  of  the  Union. 

The  Confederate  authorities  desired,  by  means  of  com- 
missioners, to  treat  as  an  independent  nation  with  the 
United  States  government ; but  as  such  they  were  not 
recognized. 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1861. 


Mar. 

11. 


882 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVTII. 


1861. 


The  inaugural  gave  encouragement  to  the  Union  senti- 
ment in  the  Border  States.  Kentucky  refused  to  call  a 
State  Convention ; Tennessee,  by  a majority  of  50,000, 
resolved  to  remain  in  the  Uuion  ; North  Carolina  appeared 
to  be  more  loyal  than  ever,  and  even  Virginia  began  to 
show  strong  attachment  to  the  old  order  of  things,  but  her 
people  were  not  permitted  to  have  a voice  in  theii  own 
destiny. 

From  the  inauguration  onward  for  some  weeks.  Fort 
Sumter  was  the  subject  of  much  anxiety  both  South  and 
North  ; the  former  with  hopes  it  would  be  evacuated,  the 
latter  for  the  most  part  that  it  might  be  maintained,  and  its 
garrison  reinforced,  and  above  all  that  there  should  be  no 
concessions  to  men  with  arms  in  their  hands,  setting  the 
authority  of  the  government  at  defiance.  Mr.  Lincoln, 
slow  and  cautious  in  judgment,  determined  that  Sumter 
should  not  be  evacuated  but  defended,  and  let  the  responsi- 
bility rest  upon  those  who  should  make  the  attack.  The 
United  States  Senate,  then  in  session,  was  also  opposed  to 
the  withdrawal  of  the  garrison. 

A similar  scene  occured  in  the  harbor  of  Pensacola. 
Lieutenant  Slemmer  evacuated  Fort  McRae  and  passed  over 
to  Fort  Pickens,  which,  by  the  almost  superhuman  exer- 
tions of  his  men  and  with  aid  of  marines  from  the  ships 
of  war  off  the  harbor,  he  fortified  and  held  the  enemy 
at  defiance.  During  the  night,  boats  with  muffled  oars 
brought  him  provisions  and  munitions  and  men,  landing 
them  safely  on  the  island  on  which  stood  the  Fort. 

The  government  resolved  to  send  provisions  to  Sumter ; 
preparations  for  this  purpose  were  made  in  the  port  of  New 
York.  At  Charleston,  General  G.  T.  Beauregard,  unmo- 
lested by  Anderson,  had  been  for  weeks  fortifying  points  on 
the  harbor  to  prevent  ships  entering,  and  also  to  attack 
Sumter  if  not  surrendered.  President  Lincoln  sent  a mes- 
senger to  inform  Governor  Pickens  of  his  intention  of 
sending  provisions  to  the  garrison  of  Fort  Sumter.  The 
steward  of  the  Fort  had  been  warned  a few  days  before 


DAVIS  PERPLEXED — BOMBARDMENT  OF  SUMTER. 


883 


that  he  would  not  be  permitted  to  purchase  fresh  provisions 
in  the  Charleston  market. 

Beauregard  telegraphed  to  Jefferson  Davis,  at  Mont- 
gomery, the  information  received  from  President  Lincoln. 
The  rebel  Cabinet  was  deeply  agitated ; should  they  take 
the  awful  responsibility  of  commencing  civil  war  ? After 
two  days  came  a telegram  directing”  Beauregard  to  demand 
the  surrender  of  the  fort  as  soon  as  possible.  The  demand 
was  made  with  the  promise  of  facilities  for  transporting 
the  troops  and  their  private  property.  Major  Anderson 
courteously  refused  to  surrender  his  trust,  incidentally 
remarking  to  the  messengers — Beauregard’s  aids — that  his 
provisions  would  last  only  for  a few  days.  This  refusal 
was  telegraphed  to  Davis,  and  also  the  remark  in  respect 
to  the  provisions.  Davis  replied,  saying : 44  If  Major 
Anderson  will  state  the  time  at  which,  as  indicated  by 
him,  he  will  evacuate,  and  agree  that  in  the  meantime  he 
will  not  use  his  guns  against  us,  unless  ours  should  be 
employed  against  Fort  Sumter,  you  are  thus  to  avoid 
the  effusion  of  blood.”  “ If  this  or  its  equivalent  be 
refused,  reduce  the  fort  as  your  judgment  deems  to  be 
most  practicable.”  This  was  in  substance  communicated 
to  Major  Anderson,  who  replied,  that  unless  he  had  orders 
from  his  Government  or  supplies  he  would  evacuate  by 
noon  on  the  15th  inst.  To  this  the  “aids”  answered, 
that  fire  would  be  opened  upon  Sumter  in  one  hour  from 
that  time ; the  surrender  was  not  wanted,  except  by  in- 
augurating war, — thus  “ to  fire  the  Southern  Heart.” 

Promptly  at  the  time  indicated,  April  12th,  4.20  a.m., 
a mortar  on  Sullivan  Island  gave  the  signal.  This  was 
followed  by  one  gun  from  each  of  five  batteries  and  a 
floating  iron-clad.  After  a pause  of  a few  moments  fifty 
guns  in  concert  threw  forth  their  solid  shot  and  shell  upon 
the  devoted  Sumter  and  its  garrison  of  seventy  men.  No 
reply  was  made  ; the  men  were  ordered  out  of  danger  ; at 
six  o’clock  breakfast  was  served ; the  men  were  then 
detailed  under  their  respective  officers,  with  the  intention 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1861. 

Apr. 

8. 


Apr. 

11. 


Apr. 

12. 

2.30 

A.  M. 


884 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICANS  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVTII. 


1861. 


Apr. 

14 


of  relieving  each  other  from  time  to  time.  The  first 
detail,  under  Captain  Arthur  Doubleday,  fired  the  first  gun 
at  7 a.h.,  then  for  nearly  three  hours  solid  shot  had  been 
pouring  in,  and  shells  were  bursting  every  minute  within 
the  inclosure.  The  parapet  guns,  after  a few  rounds,  were 
left,  as  the  exposure  was  too  great  to  man  them.  The  men 
of  the  second  and  third  details  or  reliefs  refused  to  wait 
their  turns,  but  insisted  on  joining  in  the  fight ; and  so 
vigorous  were  the  discharges  from  Sumter  that  the  enemy 
thought  the  fort  must  have  been  reinforced.  All  were 
inspired  with  patriotic  zeal ; even  some  Irish  laborers  joined 
in  with  their  native  ardor  for  a fight.  Presently  one  of  the 
officers  heard  the  report  of  a gun  on  the  parapet ; going  to 
see,  he  found  a company  of  the  laborers  amusing  them- 
selves in  that  exposed  place  by  firing  at  the  enemy.  One 
of  them  exclaimed  with  great  glee  that  he  had  hit  the 
floating  battery  in  the  center.  The  soldiers  characterized 
them  as  the  “ Irish  Irregulars.”  During  Friday  night  the 
mortar  batteries  kept  up  their  fire  to  prevent  the  garrison 
making  repairs,  and  at  dawn  all  the  guns  opened.  Now 
was  fired  red-hot  balls,  which  set  the  barracks  on  fire,  blew 
up  one  magazine  and  endangered  another,  so  that  to  avoid 
further  danger  ninety  barrels  of  powder  were  rolled  into 
the  sea.  The  heat  and  smoke  became  stifling,  yet  the 
brave  fellows  fought  on  breathing  through  wet  cloths. 
For  thirty-four  hours  had  the  bombardment  lasted,  when  a 
boat  was  seen  approaching  from  Fort  Moultrie  bearing  a 
white  flag.  Negotiations  began,  and  Anderson  agreed  to 
evacuate  the  fort.  The  troops  were  transferred  to  the 
Baltic  steamer,  which  brought  them  to  New  York.  No 
one  of  the  Union  soldiers  nor  of  the  enemy  was  killed  in 
the  conflict.  Major  Anderson  from  on  board  the  steamer 
sent  his  report  to  Washington.  After  describing  the  ruin 
of  the  fort,  he  says  in  conclusion:  The  troops  marched  out 
with  colors  flying  and  drums  beating,  bringing  away  com- 
pany and  private  property,  and  saluting  their  flag  with  fifty 
guns.” 


THE  SURRENDER — THE  CALL  FOR  VOLUNTEERS. 


885 


The  firing  on  Fort  Sumter  fired  the  Northern  heart. 
The  insult  to  the  flag  and  the  nation  had  marvelous  effect 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people.  By  this  act  the  secessionists 
had  alienated  more  or  less  their  most  influential  friends  in 
the  non-slaveholding  States ; could  they  have  foretold  the 
outburst  of  mingled  sorrow  and  indignation  that  arose  from 
all  classes  of  persons,  they  would  never  have  fired  upon 
Fort  Sumter  without  provocation.  The  hitherto  sympa- 
thizers with  the  demands  of  the  slave  owners  now,  with 
but  comparatively  few  exceptions,  were  as  outspoken  in 
condemnation  of  the  act  as  those  who  had  for  years  opposed 
those  demands. 

There  was  an  indescribable  feeling  of  emotion  pervading 
the  minds  of  all ; one  impulse  seemed  to  move  millions  as 
one  man  ; a quiet  determination  of  purpose  took  possession 
of  the  people  more  powerful  than  if  it  had  been  demonstra- 
tive. The  news  of  the  attack  and  surrender  had  been  sent 
to  wherever  the  telegraph  extended,  and  on  the  day — the 
Sabbath — the  solemnity  of  the  worshipers  was  deep  and 
all-absorbing.  Earnest  prayers  went  up  from  the  pulpits 
and  were  earnestly  responded  to  from  the  congregations,  for 
the  Nation  and  for  direction  in  this  momentous  crisis. 
This  single  act  in  a few  short  hours  had  made  rival  political 
partisans  a band  of  brothers;  prejudices  melted  away 
before  the  heat  of  an  overwhelming  love  of  country,  as  if 
they  had  never  reflected  upon  its  blessings,  until  the  at- 
tempt was  made  to  destroy  its  unity. 

On  Monday  morning  came  the  President’s  proclamation 
calling  for  75,000  men  to  serve  for  three  months  to  enforce 
the  laws  which  had  been  opposed  “ and  their  execution 
obstructed  in  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Ala- 
bama, Florida,  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and  Texas.” 

An  appeal  was  made  to  all  loyal  citizens  to  maintain 
the  honor,  the  integrity,  and  the  existence  of  the  National 
Union.  Responses  to  this  appeal  came  at  once  from  the 
loyal  States ; volunteers  were  offered  by  thousands ; espe- 
cially prompt  were  the  States  of  Pennsylvania,  Massachu- 


CHAP 

LVI1I. 


1861. 


Apr. 

15. 


886 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1861. 


setts,  New  York  and  Ohio.  These  anticipating  this  state 
of  affairs  had  by  legislative  enactment  placed  their  militia 
in  a condition  for  prompt  action. 

From  the  governors  of  the  slave  States — Kentucky, 
Missouri,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee  and  Arkan- 
sas— came  responses  within  a few  days,  all  refusing  to  send 
their  quotas  of  men,  Virginia,  North  Carolina  and  Tennes- 
see threatening  to  resist  any  attempt  at  “ coercion”  on  the 
part  of  the  National  Government.  This  was  more  the 
sentiment  of  the  individual  governors  of  these  States  than 
of  the  majority  of  the  people,  as  it  was  afterward  shown. 
Every  governor  of  the  Border  States  was  in  favor  of  the 
secessionists  except  Governor  Hicks,  of  Maryland.  So 
deeply  was  the  plot  laid  that  at  first  the  National  authorities 
were  taken  at  great  disadvantage,  the  usual  case  with  re- 
bellions; the  insurgents  were  prepared  and  therefore  at  first 
successful. 

Never  before  in  the  free  States  was  there  such  an  exhi- 
bition of  love  of  country.  The  people  were  intelligent  and 
familiar  with  the  merits  of  the  question  at  issue — union  or 
disunion — and  acted  accordingly.  The  flag — the  symbol  of 
a united  Nation — became  almost  an  idol ; it  floated  from 
church  steeples,  from  public  buildings,  from  private  houses, 
from  mast  heads ; it  decorated  the  shops  and  offices  along 
the  streets  ; the  drayman  put  it  on  his  horse  and  the  engi- 
neer on  his  locomotive,  while  its  beautiful  colors  were 
blended  in  rosettes  and  ribbons  worn  by  matrons  and  mai- 
dens— all  these  manifestations  told  that  the  hearts  of  the 
people  were  with  the  government. 

Pennsylvania,  being  the  nearest,  was  the  first  to  place 
men  in  Washington  ; six  hundred  of  whom  arrived  there  in 
four  days  after  the  call  was  issued.  Massachusetts  was 
really  the  first  in  the  field  in  respect  to  readiness  ; her  men 
were  finely  drilled  and  armed,  and  within  twenty-four  hours 
after  the  telegram  brought  the  call  for  troops  nearly  every 
company  of  the  four  regiments  called  for  were  in  Boston 


PROMPTNESS  OF  VOLUNTEERS — THE  ATTACK  IN  BALTIMORE.  887 


ready  to  march.  The  mien  left  their  workshops,  stores  and 
farms  at  a minute’s  warning. 

Benjamin  F.  Butler  was  commissioned  Brigadier-General 
of  Volunteers,  and  ordered  to  Washington  with  two  regi- 
ments, the  Sixth  and  Eighth  ; the  Third  and  Fourth  were 
sent  by  sea  in  steamers  to  Fortress  Monroe,  thus  securing 
that  important  place  to  the  nation.  The  Sixth,  in  passing 
through  Baltimore,  was  attacked  by  a mob  in  the  interest  of 
secession,  and  three  of  the  men  were  killed — the  first  blood 
shed  in  the  great  rebellion.  This  was  the  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Lexington,  April  19th,  1775,  and  the  nation 
entered  upon  a second  struggle  as  a prelude  to  a still  greater 
career  of  humane  and  industrial  progress,  to  a higher  plane 
of  a Christianized  civilization.  It  took  eight  years  of  war 
to  establish  our  independence,  and  it  took  four  years  of  war 
to  make  us  a united  people,  in  the  course  of  which  was 
removed  the  greatest  drawback  to  the  whole  nation’s  prog- 
ress. 

The  spirit  of  loyalty  in  the  free  States  continued  to 
furnish  men  and  means  to  sustain  the  cause.  In  less  than 
a month  more  than  $23,000,000  were  given  as  a free  offer- 
ing to  the  Government,  and  volunteers  far  beyond  the  num- 
ber called  for. 

Lieutenant  Jones,  in  command  at  Harper’s  Ferry,  learn- 
ed that  a force  of  about  2,000  Virginians  were  on  their  way 
to  pillage  the  armory.  As  he  had  but  fifty  men,  he  pru- 
dently destroyed  all  the  war  material,  blew  up  the  magazine 
and  withdrew  to  Carlisle,  Pa.  The  following  day  the  IJ.  S. 
Navy-yard  at  Gosport,  near  Norfolk,  was  destroyed.  Satis- 
factory reasons  for  this  wanton  destruction  of  property, 
amounting  to  many  millions’  worth,  have  never  been  given. 
The  yard  could  have  been  defended  with  prompt  action. 
About  2,000  cannon  were  thus  furnished  the  disunionists, 
which  they  used  during  the  whole  war. 

Threats  were  frequently  made  by  newspapers  and  public 
men  in  the  interest  of  the  slave  States  that  Washington 
would  soon  be  in  the  hands  of  the  insurgents.  Their 


CHAP. 

lviii. 


1861. 


Apr. 

19. 


Apr. 

19. 


888 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN-  PEOPLE. 


chap,  authorities  made  the  most  strenuous  exertions  to  increase 

LYIH. 

and  organize  an  army.  Jefferson  Dayis  first  called  for 

1861.  22,000  men,  and  soon  again  for  20,000  more.  Their  Con- 
gress met  in  called  session,  and  resolved  to  remove  their 
seat  of  government  from  Montgomery  to  Richmond,  intend- 
ing, no  doubt,  to  “ coerce”  Virginia  to  pass  an  ordinance 
May  of  secession,  which  the  majority  of  the  people  of  the  State 
in  an  impartial  vote  would  evidently  oppose.  Virginia’s 
self-constituted  authorities  handed  her  over,  and  she  was 
graciously  received  into  the  Confederacy  by  this  Congress, 
just  assembled  at  Richmond.  But  the  people  were  prom- 
ised the  privilege  of  voting  on  this  illegal  ordinance  of 
secession  on  the  23d  instant ; however,  before  that  day 
came,  all  persons  expressing  Union  sentiments  were  either 
driven  out  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State  or  compelled 
to  hold  their  peace.  Even  the  Mayor  of  Richmond,  by 
proclamation,  enjoined  the  people  to  iuform  him  of  any 
persons  suspected  of  being  Union  in  their  sympathies  (and 
Northern  female  teachers  were  advised  by  one  of  the  news- 
papers not  to  talk).  The  election  by  the  people  was  a farce. 

The  portion  of  the  State  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  was 
almost  free  of  slaves  and  could  not  be  “dragooned”  into 
secession ; the  people  there  understood  the  question,  and 
did  not  choose  to  fight  in  the  cause,  hence  they  refused  to 
answer  the  call  for  troops  by  Governor  Letcher  for  the 
Southern  confederacy ; they  also  took  measures  to  become 
separate  from  the  Eastern  portion,  aud  in  a short  time 
formed  a new  State  known  as  West  Virginia,  which  as  such 
June  in  due  time  was  admitted  into  the  Uniou.  The  national 
government  threw  a protecting  force  into  the  new  State 
under  General  George  B.  McClellan,  and  speedily  West  Vir- 
ginia was  as  free  from  armed  secessionists  as  old  Virginia  of 
Unionists. 

In  Tennessee  the  people’s  vote  was  disregarded,  though 
by  a majority  of  50,000  they  had  decided  against  secession, 
yet  the  legislature  led  by  Isham  G.  Harris,  the  governor,  in 
secret  session  adopted  the  Constitution  of  the  Confederate 


west  Virginia’s  loyalty — outrages. 


889 


States  : Upon  this  act  the  people  were  invited  to  vote  on 
the  8th  of  the  next  month.  Meantime,  as  customary,  a 
series  of  outrages  were  perpetrated  on  the  Union  men,  to 
prevent  their  voting  against  the  usurpation.  Arkansas  also 
by  resolution  of  a Convention  declared  herself  out  of  the 
Union.  The  Convention  proceeded  to  pass  laws  by  which 
all  moneys  due  Northern  creditors  were  to  be  paid  into 
the  treasury  of  the  State. 

The  governor  of  Missouri — Claiborne  F.  Jackson — was  a 
secessionist,  and  refused  to  furnish  troops  in  response  to 
President  Lincoln’s  requisition.  But  the  people  themselves, 
under  the  leadership  of  Frank  P.  Blair  and  B.  Gratz  Brown, 
raised  in  two  months  nearly  10,000  men.  Captain  Nathan- 
iel Lyon,  who  was  in  command  at  St.  Louis,  suddenly  sur- 
rounded a rebel  camp — Fort  Jackson — and  captured  every 
man.  These  had  assembled  under  the  pretence  of  preserv- 
ing the  peace  of  the  State,  and  had  been  drilling  for  weeks  ; 
their  arms  having  been  secretly  sent  them  from  Baton 
Rouge,  Louisiana,  whence  they  had  been  taken  from  the 
United  States  Arsenal.  Previous  to  this,  the  energetic 
Captain  Lyon,  under  orders  from  Washington,  had  trans- 
ferred the  arms  and  war  material  from  the  arsenal  at  St. 
Louis  to  Springfield,  Illinois.  The  German  element  in  the 
population  of  St.  Louis  stood  bravely  for  the  Union  in  this 
crisis. 

Kentucky  hesitated.  She  wanted  to  be  neutral, but  that 
policy  was  soon  seen  to  be  impossible.  Under  the  influence 
of  John  C.  Breckenridge,  her  young  men  were,  for  the 
most  part,  in  favor  of  aiding  the  disloyal  States.  Mass 
meetings  were,  however,  held  in  different  places,  and  the 
most  influential  men  of  middle  life  and  upward  came  out 
in  favor  of  the  Union.  Kentucky  was  only  saved  by  the 
presence  of  nearly  20,000  volunteers  from  the  free  States: 
over  the  Ohio  river ; in  truth  Maryland  and  Missouri  were 
also  saved  to  the  Union  by  their  nearness  to  the  free  States. 

From  the  frequent  recon noisances  and  surveys  made  by 
the  confederates  it  was  evident  they  intended  to  fortify  the 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1861. 

May 

6. 


890 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  heights  of  Arlington,  of  Georgetown  and  Alexandria,  across 

the  river  from  Washington ; they  had  already  occupied 

1861'  many  points  on  the  upper  Potomac,  ready  to  pass  over  into 
Maryland.  The  disunion  leaders  in  the  Cotton  States  had 
sent  several  thousand  soldiers  to  this  army  now  threatening 
the  National  Capital.  These  leaders  had  determined,  as 
some  of  their  papers  indiscreetly  stated,  to  make  the  border 
States,  especially  Virginia,  the  battle  ground.  They  were 
willing  to  plunge  the  nation  into  war,  but  were  anxious  to 
have  others  suffer  the  consequences.  Howell  Cobb,  the 
recent  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Buchanan,  said  in  a 
speech:  “The  people  of  the  Gulf  States  need  have  no  ap- 
prehension ; they  might  go  on  with  their  planting  and  their 
other  business  as  usual ; the  war  would  not  come  to  their 
section  ; its  theater  would  be  along  the  borders  of  the  Ohio 
river  and  in  Virginia.”  In  truth  the  Old  Dominion  was 
sadly  desolated  ; for  four  years,  over  her  soil  army  after 
army  passed  and  repassed.  The  devastation  was  inaugura- 
ted by  the  Confederates  themselves,  lest  any  sustenance  or 
shelter  should  be  found  for  the  Union  soldiers. 

General  Scott  anticipated  the  movements  of  the  enemy 
by  sending  10,000  troops  in  three  divisions  at  2 A.  m.  to 
seize  the  heights  and  fortify  them.  The  Orange  and 
Manassas  railroad  was  seized,  and  on  it  a train  having  on 
board  300  Confederate  soldiers,  who  were  captured.  Alex- 
May  andria  was  also  occupied.  In  this  town  over  the  “ Marshall 
House  ” had  floated  for  weeks  a secession  flag,  which  could 
be  seen  from  the  President’s  mansion,  and  to  which  it  was 
given  out  the  flag  was  designed  as  a taunt.  Colonel  Elmer 
Ellsworth,  of  the  Zouaves,  seeing  the  flag  floating,  deter- 
mined to  get  possession  of  it.  He  ascended  to  the  roof, 
pulled  down  the  flag,  and  when  descending  was  shot  and 
instantly  killed  by  the  proprietor  of  the  house,  who  a 
moment  after  was  shot  dead  by  a private  soldier  who  had 
accompanied  the  Colonel.  The  death  of  young  Ellsworth 
was  felt  throughout  the  land,  as  he  possessed  remarkable 
qualities  as  a commander  and  disciplinarian. 


CONCILIATORY  SPIRIT — BEAUREGARD^  PROCLAMATION. 


891 


General  Irwin  McDowell,  in  command  of  the  Union 
forces,  issued  a proclamation  in  which  he  enjoined  all  the 
officers  to  make  “ statements  of  the  amount,  kind  and 
value  of  all  private  property  taken  or  used  for  government 
purposes,  and  the  damage  done  in  any  way  to  private  prop- 
erty, that  justice  may  be  done  alike  to  private  citizens  and 
government.”  This  is  given  to  show  the  conciliatory  spirit 
of  the  National  Government ; these  regulations  were  en- 
forced. Beauregard,  in  command  of  the  Confederates,  a 
few  days  later  issued  a counter-proclamation  to  the  Virginia 
people  in  which  he  said  : “ A reckless  and  unprincipled 
tyrant  has  invaded  your  soil.  Abraham  Lincoln,  regardless 
of  all  moral,  legal  and  constitutional  restraints,  has  thrown 
his  Abolition  hosts  among  you,  who  are  murdering  and 
impressing  your  citizens,  confiscating  and  destroying  your 
property,  and  committing  other  acts  of  violence  and  out- 
rage too  shocking  and  revolting  to  humanity  to  he  enum- 
erated.” It  is  due  to  the  truth  of  history  that  these  facts 
should  be  noticed,  as  it  was  by  such  gross  misrepresentations 
the  mass  of  the  people  of  the  South  were  deceived  before 
and  during  the  war. 

The  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  announced  to  our 
ministers  abroad  the  policy  of  the  Government  in  relation 
to  foreign  intervention.  To  Charles  Francis  Adams,  at  the 
British  Court,  he  wrote  : “ You  will  make  no  admissions  of 
weakness  in  our  Constitution,  or  any  apprehensions  on  the 
part  of  the  Government.”  “ You  will  in  no  case  listen  to 
any  suggestions  of  compromises  by  this  Government  under 
foreign  auspices  with  its  discontented  citizens.”  To  Mr. 
Dayton,  Minister  to  France,  he  said  : “ The  President 
neither  expects  nor  desires  any  intervention,  nor  even  any 
favor,  from  the  government  of  France  or  any  other  in  the 
emergency.”  “ If  several  European  States  should  combine 
in  that  intervention,  the  President  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States  deem  the  Union,  which  would  then  be  at 
stake,  worth  all  the  cost  and  all  the  sacrifice  of  a contest 


CHAP. 

lviii. 


1861. 


May 

11. 


892 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVHI. 


1861. 


May 

21. 


with  all  the  world  in  arms  if  such  a contest  should  prove 
inevitable.” 

In  respect  to  the  blockade  the  Secretary  wrote  to  Mr. 
Adams : “ You  say  that  by  our  own  laws,  and  the  laws  of 
nations,  this  Government  has  a clear  right  to  suppress 
insurrection.  An  exclusion  of  commerce  from  National 
ports,  which  have  been  seized  by  insurgents  in  the  equitable 
form  of  blockade,  is  a proper  means  to  that  end.  You  will 
not  insist  that  our  blockade  is  to  be  respected  if  it  is  not 
maintained  by  a competent  force ; you  will  add  that  the 
blockade  is  now,  and  it  will  continue  to  be  so  maintained, 
and  therefore  we  expect  it  to  be  respected  by  Great 
Britain.” 

The  astonishment  of  the  American  people  at  the  posi- 
tion taken  by  England  almost  equaled  their  indignation. 
For  many  years  invectives  without  number  were  thrown 
upon  them,  especially  those  of  the  free  States,  by  influen- 
tial persons  in  England,  because  they  did  not  take  political 
measures  to  abolish  slavery,  and  thus  violate  the  com- 
promises of  the  Constitution  made  in  other  days,  when  the 
moral,  political  and  economical  evils  of  the  system  were  not 
so  well  known. 

But  now,  when  the  slave  States  had  entered  upon  a war 
to  protect  and  extend  slavery,  they  had,  with  few  excep- 
tions, the  full  sympathy  of  the  ruling  class  of  England. 
Swift  sailing  vessels  and  steamers,  with  little  hindrance  on 
the  part  of  the  government,  were  fitted  out  from  her  ports 
laden  with  munitions  of  war  to  aid  the  Rebellion.  The 
Queen,  or  rather  the  government,  issued  a proclamation 
of  professed  neutrality,  putting  the  Confederates  on  the 
same  footing  as  the  United  States  Government.  The 
cotton  manufacturers  and  the  iron  interests,  representing 
many  millions  of  money,  and  employing  several  hundred 
thousand  operatives,  were  in  favor  of  recognizing  the  Con- 
federacy. The  former  of  these  were  nearly  ruined  by  the 
want  of  cotton,  which  was  cut  off  by  the  blockade,  and  the 
latter  by  the  loss  of  the  American  market,  as  the  tariffs 


BIG  BETHEL — NATIONAL  FORCE  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA. 


893 


imposed  to  meet  the  extraordinary  expenses  incurred  by  the 
civil  war  had  also  given  the  American  iron-masters  reasons 
to  extend  their  works,  and  they  soon  were  able  to  supply 
the  wants  of  the  country. 

General  B.  F.  Butler  was  transferred  from  Baltimore 
to  Fortress  Monroe.  The  Confederates,  under  General 
Magruder,  occupied  prominent  points  commanding  the 
approaches  to  Richmond,  while  Yorktown  and  Gloucester 
Point  were  also  fortified.  General  Butler  resolved,  by  a 
night  movement,  to  surprise  and  capture  two  positions  of 
the  enemy  in  the  vicinity — Little  Bethel  and  Big  Bethel. 
The  latter  the  stronger,  and  under  the  immediate  command 
of  Magruder.  The  plan  was  well  arranged,  and  the  troops 
set  out  on  their  night  march,  in  order  to  attack  Little 
Bethel  at  daylight.  But  two  of  the  regiments  came  into 
collision,  by  some  mistake  made  in  the  darkness,  and  fired 
into  each  other  till  the  mistake  was  discovered.  This  firing 
gave  information  to  the  enemy,  and  those  in  Little  Bethel 
hastily  retreated  to  the  larger  and  better  fortified  position. 
Meantime,  the  other  portion  of  the  Federal  troops  hearing 
the  firing,  fell  back,  lest  they  should  be  taken  in  flank.  In 
the  morning  the  disappointed  Federals  came  together ; a 
conference  was  held,  and  it  was  rashly  determined  to  attack 
Big  Bethel,  whose  guns  commanded  the  approach.  The 
result  was  a repulse,  as  might  have  been  expected,  yet  the 
soldiers,  some  of  whom  had  only  been  under  arms  a few 
weeks,  stood  the  fire  well.  Here  fell  two  of  the  most 
accomplished  men  in  the  command — Lieutenant  Greble,  of 
the  United  States  Artillery,  and  Theodore  Winthrop,  secre- 
tary and  aid  to  General  Butler. 

An  election  held  in  West  Virginia  shows  that  the  great 
majority  of  the  people  of  that  section  were  true  and  loyal  to 
the  National  Government.  A few  days  afterward  a force 
was  thrown  across  the  Ohio  at  several  points.  This  force 
made  short  work  with  the  armed  enemy  of  West  Virginia  ; 
driving  out  both  them  and  the  troops  seut  to  their  aid  by 
the  Confederacy. 


CHAP. 

LVITI. 


1861. 


May 

10. 


June 

11. 


894 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LYin. 


1861. 

May 

26: 


June 

11. 


June 

12. 


General  McClellan  opened  the  campaign  by  issuing  a 
proclamation,  in  which  was  promised  protection  to  the  lives 
and  property  of  the  Union  men  from  the  armed  enemy  who 
were  preying  upon  them.  Grafton,  an  important  point  at 
the  junction  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway  with  that 
of  Northwest  Virginia,  was  occupied  by  the  enemy,  who, 
hearing  of  the  advance,  evacuated  that  place,  after  destroy- 
ing, as  far  as  possible,  culverts  and  railway  bridges.  The 
next  place  was  Philippi,  where  the  enemy  were  routed  and 
scattered  in  a spirited  fight,  they  leaving  all  their  muni- 
tions ; they,  however,  made  a strenuous  but  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  recover  their  lost  ground.  A great  deal  of 
leniency  was  shown  to  the  disloyal  portion  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, which  policy  they  but  little  appreciated.  A Confeder- 
ate force  was  concentrated  at  Rich  Mountain ; though 
strongly  entrenched.  General  Rosecrans  attacked  them  so 
vigorously  that,  under  General  Pegram,  they  retreated  in 
the  night  in  order  to  reach  General  Garnet’s  main  force  at 
Laurel  Hill ; but  they  became  entangled  in  the  woods,  and 
food  failing,  six  hundred  of  them  surrendered  as  prisoners 
of  war.  When  this  was  known,  General  Garnet  rapidly 
retreated,  throwing  away  his  superfluous  baggage.  He 
passed  along  Cheat  River,  hoping  by  means  of  by-paths  to 
reach  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  Though  he  impeded 
the  pursuers  by  breaking  down  bridges  and  felling  trees 
across  the  road,  yet  in  spite  of  these  obstructions  the  Union 
forces  overtook  him  at  Carrick’s  Ford.  Garnet  here  made  a 
stand  to  confront  his  indefatigable  pursuers.  He  had  taken  a 
strong  position  on  a hill  whose  base  was  densely  covered  by 
a jungle  of  laurel  bushes ; with  him  were  2.000  men,  and  a 
reserve  of  3,000  men  in  the  rear.  Rosecrans  made  a dem- 
onstration in  front  at  the  Ford,  while  a portion  of  his  men, 
by  a flank  movement,  groped  their  way  through  the  jungle 
and  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  with  a shout  rushed  on  the 
enemy,  captured  one  of  the  guns  commanding  the  Ford, 
and  drove  them  before  them.  Garnet  behaved  with 
great  bravery,  but  presently  fell  pierced  by  a rifle  ball. 


BULL  BUN. 


895 


Then  his  men,  panic-stricken,  fled  in  confusion,  and  reach- 
ing the  reserves  in  the  rear,  the  panic  was  communicated 
to  them  and  they  also  fled,  only  one  regiment  of  Georgians 
making  a short  stand.  These  prisoners  were  treated  with 
great  kindness,  clothed  and  fed,  and  unwisely  permitted  to 
simply  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States 
Government  and  then  dismissed.  Large  numbers  of  these 
men,  violating  their  oath,  were  soon  found  in  the  Confeder- 
ate ranks.  The  rebel  loss  in  these  conflicts  was  about  1,500 
killed,  wounded  and  prisoners,  while  the  Union  loss  was 
only  20  killed  and  60  wounded. 

General  McClellan  was  relieved  and  ordered  to  Washing- 
ton ; General  Rosecrans  taking  command  of  the  Union 
forces  in  West  Virginia. 

Preparations  were  made  for  a general  advance  of  the 
troops  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington  early  in  July.  The 
troops  under  General  Patterson  on  the  Upper  Potomac ; 
those  under  McClellan — the  extreme  right — from  West  Vir- 
ginia ; and  the  forces  under  McDowell  extending  along  the 
river  opposite  Washington  ; these  all  were  to  advance  and 
gradually  contract  their  lines  around  Richmond.  The  plan 
was  General  Scott’s.  General  McDowell  was  to  move  direct 
upon  Manassas  Junction,  on  the  railroad  twenty-seven  miles 
from  Alexandria,  an  important  strategic  position  held  by 
the  enemy.  General  Patterson  had  already  moved  from 
Chambersburg,  Pa.,  and  reached  the  Potomac  and  passed 
over,  General  Joe  Johnston,  in  command  of  the  Confeder- 
ates in  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  falling  back,  after 
destroying  what  was  left  of  the  armory  at  Harper’s  Ferry 
and  transferring  the  machinery  to  Richmond,  there  to  be 
used  in  the  service  of  the  rebellion  to  the  close  of  the  war. 

Patterson  also  issued  his  proclamation,  promising  pro- 
tection to  loyal  men  and  private  property,  and  the  troops 
were  enjoined  to  suppress  any  insurrection  of  the  slaves. 
Ruin  was  found  along  the  pathway  of  the  retreating  Con- 
federate army  ; it  was  they  who  inaugurated  the  system  of 
desolating  the  country  through  which  they  passed,  nor  till 


CHAP. 

LYIII. 


1861. 


July 

22. 


June 

16. 


896 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  ^ie  nex^  ^ear  was  aiU  retaliation  practiced  by  the  Federal 
armies,  and  that  but  seldom. 

Patterson  had  about  23,000  men,  but  he  seemed  to  act 
without  a fixed  purpose  or  design  ; for  some  unexplained 
reason  he  recrossed  the  Potomac  and  fell  back  to  Hagers- 
town,  he  said  in  consequence  of  orders  from  Washington, 
and  the  enemy  returned  to  the  south  side  of  the  river. 
Then  again  he  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport,  and 
appeared  to  hesitate,  taking  no  responsibility.  The  cam- 
July  paign  seemed  aimless.  The  enemy  now  fell  back  beyond 
Martinsburg  toward  Winchester,  where  Johnston  was  said 
to  have  an  army  of  15,000  men  well  supplied  with  artillery. 
Patterson  occupied  Martinsburg.  His  orders  were  to  press 
Johnston  and  prevent  his  reinforcing  Beauregard  at  Manas- 
sas ; but  he  hesitated,  and  soon  it  was  discovered  that 
Johnston  and  his  whole  army  had  marched  southward,  yet 
July  he  lingered  till  he  heard  of  the  disaster  at  Bull  Run.  The 
Government  should  have  put  in  command  of  these  troops 
a regularly  educated  military  officer,  and  not  have  risked 
so  much  by  entrusting  them  to  incompetent  hands. 

Meantime  the  Union  troops  were  moving  toward  Manas- 
sas Junction,  the  enemy  making  but  little  resistance  and 
falling  back  till  they  made  a stand  at  Blackburn’s  Ford  at 
Bull  Run  Creek,  which  they  strongly  fortified.  McDowell 
resolved  to  turn  the  enemy’s  position  and  reach  the  Manas- 
sas Gap  Railway,  and  thus  intercept  reinforcements  from 
Winchester,  as  he  fully  expected  Patterson  to  hold  John- 
ston in  check  so  that  he  could  not  bring  aid  to  Beaure- 
gard. 

McDowell  made  his  arrangements  to  flank  the  enemy  by 
crossing  the  creek  at  other  fords.  Parties  sent  out  to 
reconnoitre  on  Saturday  reported  they  had  heard  steam- 
whistles  and  the  distant  rumblings  of  railroad  trains.  It 
was  learned  after  the  battle  that  these  trains  had  brought  a 
portion  of  Johnston’s  forces. 

^ The  various  divisions  of  the  Union  army,  but  not  in 
21.  perfect  concert,  advanced  to  cross  the  fords.  Owing  to 


BULL  RUN. 


897 


want  of  discipline  some  of  these  divisions  were  behind  the  chap. 

time  appointed — daylight — to  cross  the  fords  nearly  three  

hours.  Of  this  want  of  concert  the  enemy  availed  them- 
selves.  They  soon  discovered  the  attack  in  front  was  a 
feint,  and  from  that  point  they  withdrew  large  detachments 
to  be  used  elsewhere.  The  contest  was  a brave  one  on 
both  sides,  but  desultory  in  the  extreme,  as  might  be 
expected  from  inexperienced  men,  nine-tenths  of  whom 
were  going  into  battle  for  the  first  time.  In  different  parts 
of  the  field  the  Confederates  were  driven  from  time  to  time 
and  would  recover  ; batteries  of  cannon  changed  hands  more 
than  once.  Finally  the  Federals  drove  the  enemy  nearly 
two  miles,  and  deemed  the  victory  won.  The  Union  troops 
had  been  in  motion  from  2 a.m.,  and  had  been  fighting 
from  ten  o’clock,  and  at  3 p.m.,  were  resting  when  they 
were  surprised  and  suddenly  attacked  by  about  5,000  troops 
fresh  from  a train  from  Winchester.  At  this  crisis  the 
other  Confederates,  thus  encouraged,  renewed  the  conflict 
with  vigor.  The  Union  forces  were  thrown  into  con- 
fusion and  retreated  in  disorder,  and  being  undisciplined 
could  not  be  as  a whole  effectually  rallied.  Yet  individual 
regiments  one  after  another  stood  in  the  way  and  fought 
gallantly,  retarding  the  advance  of  the  enemy  till  the  strag- 
glers could  retire  to  the  rear.  While  the  soldiers  of  both 
armies  were  inexperienced  and  but  partially  disciplined, 
they  fought  worthy  of  their  fathers.  The  Union  forces 
lost  481  killed  and  1,011  wounded,  the  Confederates  296 
killed  and  1,533  wounded.  This  success  of  the  insurgents 
made  known  to  the  people  of  the  free  States  that  the  rebel- 
lion could  only  be  put  down  by  hard  fighting.  “ Beaure- 
gard’s victory  at  Manassas  Junction  inspired  the  Confede- 
rates with  such  confidence  that  they  had  not  doubted  for  a 
single  instant  but  that  the  North  had  received  a mortal 
blow.”  “ But  a few  men,  such  as  General  Lee  and  General 
Joe  Johnston  and  others,  alone  recognized  the  vital  impor- 
tance of  the  struggle  in  which  they  were  engaged,  and  they 


898 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1861. 


June 

13. 


Juno 

17. 


ceased  not  to  warn  the  Southern  people  against  their  foolish 
imprudence.1 

Missouri  being  a Border  State,  the  people  were  much 
divided,  but  the  majority  were  in  favor  of  the  union, 
especially  might  this  be  said  of  the  entire  German  popula- 
tion. Governor  Jackson  had  fled  from  the  capital  at  Jef- 
ferson City  after  issuing  a flaming  proclamation  calling  for 
50,000  men  to  repel  the  invaders,  meaning  the  U.  S. 
troops  under  Captain  Lyon.  The  Governor  had  slipped  off 
up  the  river  with  steamers  laden  with  the  State  ordnance. 
The  energetic  Lyon  went  in  pursuit  in  steamers  the  same 
evening,  and  sent  troops  by  land  in  the  same  direction  to 
seize  railroads  and  protect  bridges  and  to  intercept  the  fugi- 
tive governor  and  his  adherents,  the  main  body  moving  to 
Rolla,  the  then  terminus  of  the  South  Pacific  railway. 

Lyon  first  stopped  at  the  capital  and  installed  a Military 
Governor,  Colonel  Boernstein,  then  with  three  steamers,  on 
board  of  which  were  troops  and  field  artillery,  he  continued 
the  pursuit,  landing  near  Booneville,  a few  miles  below 
where  Jackson  and  Sterling  Price,  a former  governor  of  the 
State,  had  made  an  entrenched  camp,  and  had  a motley 
crowd,  composed  largely  of  the  outside  voters  we  have 
seen  in  the  Kansas  difficulties.  After  landing  Lyon 
marched  at  once  to  assault  the  camp,  but  met  the  enemy  on 
their  way  to  oppose  his  landing ; he  immediately  attacked 
them  and  after  a few  minutes  they  fled,  taking  refuge  in 
their  camp  ; this  they  also  soon  abandoned,  scattering  in 
all  directions.  About  40  of  them  were  killed  and  great 
numbers  made  prisoners.  Jackson  and  Price  both  fled 
toward  the  South,  where  they  expected  to  join  troops 
from  Arkansas  and  Texas  under  General  Rains  and  the 
famous  Texan  ranger,  Ben  McCullough. 

Lyon  was  sadly  in  want  of  reinforcements,  but  as  all  the 
troops  were  at  that  time  sent  to  protect  Washington,  he 
was  compelled  to  pursue  the  enemy  with  insufficient  force. 


1 Childe’s  Life  of  Lee,  p.  60. 


THE  REBEL  RETREAT — SIGEL’S  MASTERLY  RETREAT. 


899 


He  sent  forward  Colonel  Franz  Sigel,  who  soon  arrived,  at  chap. 

Springfield,  in  the  south-western  portion  of  the  State ; 

thence  lie  advanced  rapidly  toward  Carthage,  to  find  all  the  1861' 
insurgents  united  under  Jackson,  Price,  and  other  chiefs. 
Though  the  enemy  numbered  5,500  and  a battery  of  five 
guns,  and  Sigel’s  force  only  1,500  men  and  eight  guns,  two 
of  which  were  twelve  pounders,  yet  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
attack.  He  found  them  drawn  up  on  a rising  ground  on  the 
prairie  ; that  morning  they  expected,  as  they  expressed  it, 

“to  wipe  out  the  Hutch  hirelings. ” The  battle  com- 
menced and  the  centre  guns  of  the  enemy  were  soon 
silenced,  and  they  pulled  down  the  secession  flag  and  raised 
that  of  the  State ; upon  this  Sigel’s  men  were  unwilling  to 
fire.  .Presently  the  rebel  cavalry,  being  very  numerous, 
began  to  outflank  the  Unionists  and  Sigel  fell  back  to 
protect  his  train.  He  held  the  enemy  in  check,  pouring  in 
at  the  proper  moment  “ a shower  of  canister  and  shrapnel 
shell  ” until  he  reached  Springfield,  in  spite  of  the  numer- 
ous force  around  him.  The  next  day  the  insurgents  were 
reinforced  by  about  5,000  Texans  under  Ben  McCullough. 

Five  days  after  the  battle  General  Lyon  arrived  at  Spring- 
field,  which  place  the  enemy  almost  surrounded. 

The  Missouri  State  Convention,  largely  composed  of 
Union  men,  took  action  by  electing  provisional  State  offi-  July 
cers.  The  people  of  the  State  respected  the  authority  of 
the  convention. 


General  Lyon  ascertained  that  the  enemy,  23,000  strong, 
were  concentrating  at  Wilson’s  Creek  ten  miles  south  of 
Springfield,  and  were  preparing  some  onward  movement. 
He  resolved  to  anticipate  them.  The  entire  Federal  force 
marched  from  their  entrenchments  at  Springfield  in  two 
divisions — the  one  under  Lyon,  the  other  under  Sigel — to 
surprise  the  enemy  before  they  made  their  advance.  Lyon 
was  to  attack  the  front  at  daylight,  and  Sigel  the  rear  at 
the  same  time  Both  were  prompt,  and  one  of  the  fiercest 
battles  thus  far  began  ; in  front  the  enemy  were  driven  from 
the  field.  Lyon  greatly  exposed  himself  and  was  wounded 


Aug 

9-10 


900 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 

1861. 


Oct. 

16. 


twice.  The  enemy  rallied  and  made  a desperate  effort  to  re- 
gain what  they  had  lost  but  were  most  severely  repulsed  by 
the  cool  determination  of  the  Iowans,  who  lying  close  on 
the  brow  of  a hill  let  their  foe  come  within  40  feet  before 
firing  upon  them.  They  recoiled  in  confusion  and  finally 
fell  back  down  the  hill.  It  was  seen  that  they  were  about 
to  make  another  attempt,  and  Lyon  desired  his  men  to  charge 
bayonets  as  soon  as  they  had  discharged  their  pieces.  “ Who 
will  lead  us?”  exclaimed  the  men.  “ I will  myself,”  said  the 
general.  “Come  on,  my  brave  men.”  The  enemy  came  up 
but  only  fired  and  did  not  wait  for  the  bayonet  charge  but 
fled  down  the  hill.  General  Lyon  was  killed  by  this  dis- 
charge. He  was  universally  regretted,  being  one  of  the 
most  accomplished  officers  in  the  United  States  Army. 
Meantime  General  Sigel  was  also  successful  in  driving 
the  enemy  before  him,  but  was  at  length  greatly  out- 
numbered by  encountering  a large  force  in  his  front  and 
compelled  to  retreat,  losing  five  cannons,  three  of  which  the 
soldiers  spiked.  This  was  a drawn  battle.  The  Union 
army  lost  263  killed  and  721  wounded  ; the  rebels,  421  killed 
and  more  than  a thousand  wounded.  The  Union  army 
under  Major  Sturgis  fell  back  to  Springfield,  and  finally 
to  Rolla,  the  terminus  of  the  railway,  holding  the  enemy  at 
bay,  who  now  overran  Southern  Missouri,  driving  the  Union 
men  from  their  homes  and  pillaging  the  people  generally. 
General  J.  C.  Fremont  assumed  command  in  Missouri 
about  the  last  of  July. 

The  rebels  pushed  their  line  of  devastation  up  to  Lex- 
ington on  the  Missouri  River.  This  place  was  defended  in 
the  most  heroic  manner  by  Colonel  Mulligan  and  his  “ Irish 
Brigade” — of  2,640  men, — but  finally,  when  the  enemy 
increased  to  nearly  20,000,  he  surrendered.  This  was  but  a 
barren  victory,  as  the  enemy  were  compelled  to  retreat  rap- 
idly toward  the  south,  pursued  by  Fremont,  who,  after 
commencing  the  fortification  of  St.  Louis,  and  organizing 
the  forces  already  in  the  State  and  those  collected  at  his  call 
from  other  States,  had  taken  the  field  (Sept.  26/  nimself. 


THE  IRISH  BRIGADE — A PROCLAMATION". 


901 


Fremont  was  crippled  for  want  of  transportation,  arms, 
clothing,  and  men.  Yet,  at  a critical  moment  came  to  him 
an  order  from  the  Secretary  of  War  and  General  Scott  “ to 
send  5,000  well-armed  infantry  to  Washington  without  a 
moment’s  delay.”  Fremont,  too,  had  issued  a proclama- 
tion, in  which  he  had  declared  the  State  under  martial 
taw ; threatening,  among  the  penalties,  the  freedom  of  the 
insurgents’  slaves.  The  latter  clause  offended  those  of  the 
Union  men  who  owned  slaves,  and  at  the  suggestion  of 
President  Lincoln  he  modified  that  clause  to  read,  “all 
slaves  who  have  been  employed  on  rebel  military  works.” 
But  it  raised  a clamor  among  the  politicians  that  did  not 
cease  till  Fremont  was  superseded,  when  General  Halleck 
assumed  command  of  the  “ Department  of  the  West.” 

Fremont’s  career  at  the  West  was  brief — only  one  hun- 
dred days ; but,  being  a man  of  military  instincts  and 
training,  he  showed  in  that  time  a sagacity  which  was  not 
allowed  fair  practical  development.  In  that  brief  time  he 
was  the  first  to  suggest  and  inaugurate  the  following  prac- 
tices, then  widely  decried,  but  without  which  the  war 
would  not  have  been  successfully  concluded  : the  free  use 
of  cavalry  (strongly  opposed  by  General  Scott  and  others)  ; 
exchange  of  prisoners  with  the  enemy ; fortification  of 
large  cities,  to  allow  armies  to  take  the  field ; building  of 
river  gun-boats  for  interior  operations  at  the  West ; and, 
the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  In  short,  he  contributed 
more  than  is  generally  credited  to  him. 

After  the  Union  disaster  at  Bull  Bun  the  Confeder- 
ates endeavored  to  regain  West  Virginia;  sending  a large 
force  under  Henry  A.  Wise  and  John  B.  Floyd.  The  latter 
was  defeated  by  Bosecrans  at  Carnifex  Ferry  on  Gauley 
River,  but  under  favor  of  darkness  fled,  his  men  leaving  all 
their  munitions  except  what  they  could  carry.  General 
Robert  E.  Lee  was  sent  with  9,000  men  to  drive  the  Fed- 
eral s from  Cheat  Mountain,  but  after  several  conflicts  he 
was  defeated  and  compelled  to  retreat  east. 

Kentucky  in  a recent  election  for  Members  of  Congress 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 

1861. 


Nov. 

12. 


Sept. 

10. 


Sept 

4. 


902 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP 

LVHL 


1861. 

July 

1. 


Sept. 

3. 


Sept. 

6. 


• had  shown  herself  loyal  by  a majority  of  55,000 ; though 
her  Governor,  MacGoffin,  was  a secessionist,  and  so  was 
General  Buckner,  the  commander  of  the  State  Guards. 
The  latter,  treacherously  betraying  his  trust,  went  over  to 
the  support  of  the  rebellion.  John  C.  Brecken ridge,  who 
was  in  the  United  States  Senate,  and  so  much  exercised 
because  President  Lincoln,  as  he  argued,  had  violated  the 
Constitution  in  calling  out  the  75,000  men  to  enforce  the 
laws,  threw  all  his  influence  in  favor  of  the  enemy,  thus 
more  than  usual  corrupting  tbe  loyalty  of  the  young  men  of 
the  State. 

The  Legislature  met  and  passed  laws  over  the  Governor’s 
veto  to  furnish  money  to  arm  the  State  against  invasion  on 
either  side,  and  preserve  her  neutrality ; that  phantom  soon 
vanished.  A hostile  force  advanced  from  Tennessee,  and 
taking  possession  fortified  two  points  on  the  Ohio  river — 
Hickman  and  Chalk  Bluffs.  On  the  same  day  General  Zol- 
licoffer,  with  an  army  occupied  Cumberland  Gap,  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State,  intending  thereby  to  cut  off  the 
Union  men  of  East  Tennessee  from  aid  either  from  Ken- 
tucky or  the  Federal  army.  This  concerted  movement 
made  it  plain  to  the  most  obtuse  that  the  Confederates,  as 
had  been  their  selfish  plan,  were,  in  order  to  save  the 
“Cotton  States,”  about  to  make  the  Border  States  the 
battle-field. 

General  U.  S.  Grant,  who  was  in  command  at  Cairo, 
111.,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  immediately  telegraphed  the 
fact  of  the  rebel  invasion  to  the  Kentucky  Legislature, 
then  in  session.  That  body  at  once  passed  a resolution 
inviting  General  Robert  Anderson,  of  Sumter  memory,  to 
enter  upon  his  duties  in  the  “ Department  of  Kentucky,” 
to  which  he  had  been  assigned  by  President  Lincoln. 
Thus  far  there  were  no  United  States  troops  stationed  in 
the  State,  and  the  only  soldiers  were  enlisted  Kentuckians. 

Grant  did  not  wait  for  orders,  but  at  once  passed  over 
into  Kentucky,  landing  at  Paducah  ; issuing  a proclama- 
tion, as  was  the  custom  in  those  days,  to  the  effect  that  he 


GRANT’S  ADVANCE — LOYALTY — CONGRESS. 


903 


had  come  to  protect  the  people  and  aid  them  in  driving  the  chap. 
hostile  invaders  from  the  State.  

General  Anderson  assumed  command,  and  the  Legisla- 
ture  called  out  “for  defense  against  the  invaders”  40,000 
men,  and  by  law  disfranchised  those  Kentuckians  who  had 
voluntarily  joined  the  enemy  if  they  did  not  return  to  their 
allegiance  to  the  State.  The  neutrality  of  Kentucky  was 
at  an  end. 

The  disaster  at  Bull  Kun  rendered  the  people  of  the 
free  States  intensely  anxious ; fears  were  entertained  of  a 
rapid  advance  on  Washington  itself.  That  such  an  advance 
was  not  made  is  due  to  the  opposition  of  Jefferson  Davis, 
who  thought  the  measure  premature.  At  this  crisis  the 
terms  of  the  first  men  called  out  were  about  to  expire,  and 
now  a call  was  made  for  men  to  serve  three  years.  The 
new  rousing  of  the  patriotism  of  the  loyal  North  was  sub- 
lime : regiments  came  into  existence  as  if  raised  by  magic  ; 
even  the  sympathizers  with  the  rebellion  cowered  before  the 
enthusiasm  and  determination  evoked  to  repel  the  advance 
of  the  insurgents  ; yet  they  continued  to  the  end  to  dis- 
parage every  loyal  victory  and  exaggerate  every  defeat. 

Congress  was  equal  to  the  emergency  ; they  passed  a bill 
authorising  the  enlisting  of  500,000  men  and  appropriated 
500,000,000  dollars,  to  carry  on  the  war.  They  also  passed 
an  act  confiscating  all  slaves  used  by  the  rebels  for  military  Aug. 
purposes  ; all  slaves  within  the  Federal  lines  were  to  be  em-  2- 
ployed  upon  the  works  and  paid  as  day  laborers.  General 
Butler  had  applied  the  term  “Contraband  of  war”  to  the 
slaves  escaping  from  their  masters  to  his  army  at  Fortress 
Monroe  ; although  orders  had  been  issued  that  such  runa- 
ways should  be  restored,  he  delayed  to  comply  with  the 
order.  Great  care  was  taken  by  the  National  Government 
to  conciliate  the  slave  owners,  but  without  success. 

Gen.  McClellan  entered  upon  his  duties  with  commend-  Aug. 
able  zeal ; Washington  was  fortified  thoroughly,  there  being 
no  less  than  thirty-two  forts  constructed  at  different  points 


904 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  and.  garrisoned.  But  his  great  work  was  to  bring  order  out 

of  disorder,  to  discipline  the  numerous  new  soldiers  that 

1861  a 

Qct‘  had  crowded  by  steamboat  and  railway  to  the  capital. 
15.  This  great  work  he  was  fully  competent  to  perform,  and  it 
was  as  fully  accomplished.  By  the  middle  of  October  he 
had  150,000  men  under  his  immediate  command.  No 
advances  were  made,  except  reconnoitering  expeditions  to 
ascertain  the  positions  of  the  enemy  and  their  designs. 

The  Confederates,  under  General  Evans,  made  a feint 
of  evacuating  Leesburg,  in  order  to  draw  some  one  of  these 
reconnoitering  parties  into  an  ambuscade.  General  Stone 
was  in  command  in  that  vicinity.  He  ordered  Colonel 
Baker  to  cross  the  Potomac  and  try  the  enemy,  for  it  was 
well  known  that  Leesburg  was  well  fortified.  The  crossing 
was  made,  but  the  enemy  remained  quiet  until  the  Federals 
were  within  their  power.  Then  occurred  a terrific  battle 
Oct-  and  slaughter,  compared  with  the  numbers  engaged — and 
Ball’s  Bluff  disaster  is  the  saddest  of  the  war.  General 
Stone  sent  an  order  to  Colonel  Baker  warning  him  of 
danger,  as  the  enemy  were  reported  to  be  in  strong  force. 
This  order  was  given  to  Baker  on  the  battle-field,  who 
asked  the  bearer  what  it  was.  The  answer  was,  “ All  right, 
go  ahead.”  Colonel  Baker  put  the  order  in  his  hat  without 
reading  it,  and  went  “ ahead”  straight  into  the  trap  laid 
for  him  by  the  cunning  enemy.  After  the  battle  the  order 
was  found  in  the  colonel’s  hat,  stained  with  his  own  blood. 

Lieutenant-General  Scott  asked  to  be  placed  on  the 
retired  list,  on  account  of  his  age  and  infirmities.  This 
request  was  granted.  The  President  and  his  Cabinet  going 
to  the  general’s  quarters  to  respectfully  hid  him  farewell  as 
Get  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of  the  Republic.  General 
McClellan  was  appointed  to  succeed  him,  and  he  at  once 
assumed  command. 

A combined  naval  and  land  expedition  was  planned  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  where  the  veteran  General  Wool  was  now 
in  command — Butler  having  been  relieved  and  ordered  to 
active  duty.  A fleet  of  three  frigates,  fifty  guns  each,  and 


HATTERAS  EXPEDITION. 


905 


four  vessels  of  smaller  size,  besides  transports  and  tug-boats 
to  carry  the  land  force.  No  person  knew  the  destination, 
except  a few  of  the  officers,  till  the  expedition  was  fully  out 
at  sea.  The  fleet  was  under  Commodore  Stringham,  and 
the  land  forces  under  General  Butler.  The  object  was  to 
capture  and  hold  the  two  forts — Hatteras  and  Clark — at 
the  entrance  of  Pamlico  and  Albemarle  Sounds,  in  order  to 
break  up  the  contraband  trade  by  which  English  blockade 
runners  supplied  the  insurgents  with  munitions  of  war,  in 
exchange  for  tar,  turpentine  and  cotton. 

Fort  Hatteras  was  a very  strong  battery,  nearly  sur- 
rounded by  water ; Fort  Clark,  700  yards  distant,  was  not 
as  strong.  Almost  on  their  arrival  the  frigates  opened  on 
the  forts,  while  the  transports  landed  their  men  some  four 
miles  distant.  Hatteras  replied  with  spirit,  but  wildly,  and 
the  Union  frigates  poured  in  their  solid  shot  and  shell, 
literally  tearing  the  fort  to  pieces.  Toward  evening  a storm 
arose  and  the  vessels  were  forced  to  withdraw  to  the  offing ; 
in  the  morning  the  weather  was  clear  and  the  frigates 
opened  again  upon  Fort  Hatteras.  Meantime,  the  land 
forces  occupied  Fort  Clark,  which  the  enemy  had  aban- 
doned. At  11  a.m.,  a white  flag  was  run  up  on  Fort 
Hatteras ; both  forts  were  unconditionally  surrendered. 
More  than  600  prisoners  were  taken,  while  not  a Union 
soldier  was  injured.  For  a number  of  days  the  men 
amused  themselves  in  capturing  English  blockade  runners, 
who,  not  having  learned  of  the  capture,  entered  the  inlet 
as  usual.  The  blockade  was  enforced  as  much  as  possible 
along  the  coast,  with  its  multitude  of  inlets  and  harbors, 
some  of  which  had  one  or  two  entrances. 

Two  months  later  a similar  expedition  set  out  from 
Fortress  Monroe.  Commodore  Dupont  commanded  the 
navy,  and  General  Thomas  W.  Sherman  the  land  forces. 
This  expedition  consisted  of  seventy-seven  vessels,  of  all 
classes — steamers  and  sailers,  steam-tugs,  and  ocean  steam- 
ers as  transports,  and  fifteen  gunboats  and  one  steam 
frigate,  the  Wabash.  Among  the  great  ocean  steamers  was 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1861. 


Aug. 

29. 


906 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  the  Vanderbilt , afterward  presented  to  the  Government  by 

Cornelius  Vanderbilt.  These  vessels  were  nearly  all  volun- 

q®**  teers — the  ship-owners  were  not  behind  in  their  sacrifices 
29.  for  the  cause.  The  whole  expedition  moved  from  Fortress 
Monroe ; its  destination  was  not  generally  known  till  it 
arrived  off  Port  Royal,  South  Carolina,  the  finest  harbor  on 
the  South  Atlantic  coast.  After  some  unavoidable  delays 
the  gunboats  and  the  Wabash  were  ready  for  the  bombard- 
ment of  the  forts  on  each  side  of  the  channel.  The  vessels 
Nov.  moved  in  an  ellipse.  As  they  passed  up  the  stream  they 
poured  in  a deadly  fire  of  solid  shot  and  shell  on  the  forts 
on  one  side  of  the  channel,  then  as  they  returned  paid  their 
respects  to  the  forts  on  the  other  side ; the  most  promi- 
nent, Hilton  Head,  was  deemed  invulnerable.  The  vessels 
thus  moving  passed  in  and  out  of  the  range  of  the  rebel 
guns.  The  Wabash  came  within  six  hundred  yards  of 
Hilton  Head,  while  the  gunboats  of  smaller  draft  came 
close  in  shore  and  enfiladed  the  enemy’s  works.  The  Con- 
federates could  not  stand  the  storm,  but  leaving  everything 
fled  to  the  woods.  The  bombardment  lasted  four  hours. 
The  Federals  captured  about  forty  pieces  of  ordnance, 
mostly  of  the  heaviest  caliber  and  of  the  most  approved 
patterns,  and  an  immense  quantity  of  ammunition.  The 
village  of  Beaufort  was  occupied.  It  was  made  the  hospital 
headquarters  during  the  war  for  that  section,  and  a resting- 
place  for  the  sick  soldiers,  weakened  so  much  by  the  debili- 
tating influence  of  the  climate.  After  the  capture  of  Hilton 
Head  and  the  adjacent  islands  the  enemy  began  to  burn  the 
cotton,  lest  it  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Union 
soldiers.  The  whole  heavens  were  lighted  up  night  after 
night  by  the  raging  fires. 

The  unanimity  with  which  the  people  of  the  free  States 
responded  to  the  calls  of  the  Government,  both  for  men 
and  money,  was  truly  marvelous.  From  April  15,  1861, 
when  Mr.  Lincoln’s  proclamation  was  issued,  to  August 
15th,  more  than  500,000  volunteers  had  answered  to  these 
calls.  Of  these  375,000  were  actually  in  the  field.  The 


COMPOSITION  OF  UNION  ARMIES. 


907 


Government,  from  the  first,  determined  to  depend  upon  the  chap. 

people  themselves,  not  only  for  soldiers,  but  for  the  means 

to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  war.  In  strictness  there  was 
not  a mercenary  in  the  Union  armies ; there  were  those  of 
foreign  birth,  but  they  were  either  citizens  by  adoption  and 
oath  of  allegiance,  or  had  declared,  according  to  law,  their 
intention  to  become  citizens ; they  received  pay  for  their 
services,  which  was  just  and  proper.  When  the  call  for 
money  was  made,  the  banks  of  the  principal  cities  imme- 
diately loaned  the  government  fifty  million  dollars.  Then 
the  appeal  was  made  to  the  people  at  large,  who  could  sub- 
scribe in  small  sums  according  to  their  ability.  The  rapid- 
ity with  which  this  loan  was  taken  proved  the  earnest 
loyalty  as  well  as  the  intelligence  of  the  peojfie  of  the  free 
States.  The  interest  on  this  loan  was  at  the  rate  of  seven 
and  three-tenths  per  cent.,  or  two  cents  a day  on  $100.  To 
raise  more  revenue  a heavy  tariff  was  imposed  on  foreign 
merchandise  and  manufactures.  The  result  was  great  devel- 
opment in  the  manufacturing  industries  of  the  land,  and  an 
abundance  of  employment  given  to  those  of  moderate  means, 
whose  only  capital  was  their  skill  and  hands.  Never  before 
did  they  move  so  energetically  in  their  industrial  pursuits. 

On  a dark  and  stormy  night  one  of  the  English  blockade 
runners,  the  steamer  Theodora , slipped  out  of  Charleston 
harbor,  having  on  board  John  M.  Mason  of  Virginia,  au- 
thor of  the  fugitive  slave  law  of  1850,  and  John  Slidell,  of 
Louisiana,  as  special  envoys  to  Great  Britain  and  France. 

They  were  landed  at  Cardenas,  Cuba  ; thence  made  their 
way  to  Havana,  where  they  went  aboard  the  English  mail 
steamer  Trent.  Captain  Charles  Wilkes  of  the  United 
States  steam  sloop  of  war  San  Jacinto , and  who,  when  a 
lieutenant,  had  commanded  a voyage  of  scientific  discovery  -^ov 
round  the  world,  overhauled  the  Trent  and  demanded  the  8. 
envoys,  who  were  delivered  up  to  him.  Captain  Wilkes  called 
at  Fortress  Monroe,  sent  his  dispatches  to  Washington,  and 
then  steamed  for  New  York,  where  he  received  orders  to 
send  the  envoys  to  Fort  AVarren,  in  Boston  harbor,  at  which 


908 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1861. 


place  they  were  delivered.  The  news  of  this  capture  caused 
unprecedented  excitement  throughout  the  land.  The  peo- 
ple, with  the  greatest  enthusiasm,  approved  the  action  of 
Captain  Wilkes.  But  the  absorbing  question  arose,  what 
will  be  the  result  ? Captain  Wilkes  justified  himself,  show- 
ing his  authority  from  writers  on  international  law,  but 
more  from  English  precedent.  It  was  well  known  that  our 
war  with  England  in  1812  arose  in  part  from  the  fact  that 
English  cruisers  assumed  the  right  to  board  neutral  ships  on 
the  high  seas  and  search  them  for  articles  contraband  of 
war.  Wilkes  deemed  the  envoys  contraband.  The  United 
States  Government  had  always  denied  the  right,  and  fought 
to  maintain  its  opposite.  The  British  Government,  in  cour- 
teous terms,  due  to  the  influence  of  Queen  Victoria  and 
Prince  Albert,  who  both  sympathized  with  the  North  in  the 
rebellion,  demanded  the  release  of  the  envoys.  They  were 
returned  more  in  accordance  with  the  American  idea  that  it 
was  wrong  to  seize  neutral  vessels  on  the  high  seas  than 
from  precedent  derived  from  British  custom.  Indeed  before 
the  demand  came  the  matter  had  been  amicably  arranged 
between  Lord  Lyons,  the  British  Minister,  and  Mr.  Seward, 
the  Secretary  of  State.  As  Captain  Wilkes,  who  was  on  his 
return  from  a three  years’  cruise,  had  arrested  these  men 
without  orders,  the  act  was  disavowed,  and  no  cause  of  war 
remained.  Meantime  great  excitement  prevailed  in  En- 
gland. War  preparations  were  made  in  great  haste,  and 
troops  were  sent  to  Canada.  The  disappointment  of  the 
Confederate  authorities  was  almost  unbounded.  They  had 
hoped  it  would  lead  at  least  to  a collision  with  England,  and 
perhaps  to  their  material  aid.  King  Cotton  had  already 
failed  them,  and  now  they  were  to  derive  no  benefit  from 
the  capture  of  the  envoys. 

The  enemy  under  Bishop  Leonidas  Polk,  who  had  been 
made  a Major-General,  held  a strongly  fortified  position  at 
Columbus,  Kentucky  ; on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  at 
Belmont  in  Missouri,  was  a well  fortified  camp.  General 
Grant,  then  at  Cairo,  resolved  to  break  up  the  latter,  as 


BATTLE  OF  BELMONT. 


909 


from  there  expeditions  could  be  easily  sent  into  Missouri  or 
up  or  down  the  river.  With  about  3,000  men  aboard  steam- 
ers and  escorted  by  the  gunboats  Tyler  and  Lexington,  the 
Union  soldiers  landed  four  miles  above  Belmont  and  at  once 
took  up  their  march  toward  the  encampment.  In  about 
a mile  they  fell  in  with  the  enemy  and  drove  them  “ foot 
by  foot  and  from  tree  to  tree  back  to  their  encampment  on 
the  river’s  bank,  a distance  of  over  two  miles;”  as  they 
drew  near,  suddenly  was  heard  firing  and  cheers  on  the  rear 
of  the  enemy.  The  Illinoisians,  under  Colonel  Napoleon  B. 
Buford,  had  made  a detour  rapidly  and  were  now  closing 
in  ; a combined  movement  was  made  upon  three  sides  of  the 
enemy’s  works,  which  were  soon  in  possession  of  the  Union 
forces;  “The  rebels  passing  over  the  river  bank  and  into 
their  transports  in  quick  time.”  The  object  was  accom- 
plished ; Grant  destroyed  all  the  munitions  and  property  of 
the  camp,  and  then  fell  back  to  his  transports.  Meantime 
Polk  had  sent  troops  to  attack  the  Federals  on  their  way 
back  but  without  success.  Bishop  Polk  reported  ; “It  was 
a hard  fought  battle  lasting  from  half  past  ten  a.m.  to  five 
p.m;”  he  judged  Grant’s  force  to  be  7,000  strong.  The 
Federals  lost  84  killed  and  288  wounded  ; the  enemy’s  loss 
was  never  accurately  known. 

The  enemy  had  taken  possession  of  Cumberland  Gap  to 
prevent  the  Unionists  of  East  Tennessee  from  being  aided 
by  United  States  troops.  The  Union  men  of  that  section 
displayed  the  most  heroic  patriotism  of  any  portion  of  the 
country ; and  the  Confederate  authorities  thought  it  of  the 
highest  importance  to  prevent  that  section  being  occupied 
by  Union  forces,  lest  they  should  cut  in  twain  “ The  Empire 
of  the  South.”  General  William  T.  Sherman,  who  had 
succeeded  Anderson  in  Kentucky,  was  of  the  same  opinion, 
but  the  authorities  at  Washington  seemed  to  think  other- 
wise. If  that  point  had  been  occupied  in  force,  communi- 
cation with  Cincinnati  and  the  North  could  have  been  kept 
open.  The  persecutions  and  outrages  inflicted  upon  the 


CHAP. 

LVIIL 


1861. 

Nov. 

7. 


910 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1861. 

Nov. 

15. 


Jan. 

17. 


Union  men  were  fiercer  in  East  Tennessee  than  in  any  por- 
tion East  of  the  Mississippi. 

General  Buell  assumed  command  in  Kentucky,  and  he 
withdrew  the  Union  troops  from  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
State  as  a large  rebel  force  was  reported  to  he  in  the  vicinity 
of  Bowling  Green,  an  important  and  strategic  point,  and 
that  their  intention  was  to  move  North  and  capture  Louis- 
ville, and  a strenous  effort  must  be  made  to  drive  them  from 
the  State.  The  Union  men  of  the  State  turned  out  nobly 
in  aid  of  the  cause  more  than  18,000  who  never  flinched  in 
in  battle  ; and  yet  the  State  had  furnished  many  thousands 
of  misguided  young  men  to  the  very  army  which  was  now 
invading  and  foraging  in  their  native  State.  In  the  eastern 
portion  of  the  State  a series  of  skirmishes  had  taken  place 
in  which  the  enemy,  often  worsted,  were  driven  from 
point  to  point,  but  finally  they  concentrated  under  General 
Zollicoffer,  and  made  an  attack  on  the  Union  forces  under 
General  Thomas  at  Logan’s  farm — this  battle  is  known  as 
that  of  Mill  Spring,  though  that  was  eight  miles  distant. 

General  Thomas  had  made  his  arrangements  to  attack 
the  Confederates  in  their  intrenchments ; but  they  them- 
selves had  thought  to  attack  Thomas  in  a similar  manner. 
They,  accordingly,  left  their  entrenchments  after  dark  on  a 
Saturday  night,  and  the  next  morning  at  seven  o’clock 
drove  in  the  Federal  pickets.  Word  was  speedily  given 
that  the  enemy  were  in  force,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour 
the  Union  soldiers  were  in  line  of  battle,  a detachment, 
meanwhile,  holding  the  foe  in  check.  The  conflict  was 
severe,  and  the  lines  wavered  back  and  forth  for  hours. 
The  Confederates  had  protected  themselves  by  an  extempor- 
ized bulwark  of  fence  rails  and  a barn.  Between  them  and 
the  woods  where  the  Federal  soldiers  were,  was  an  open  field. 
Colonel  McCook  determined  to  capture  these  defenses,  and 
he  ordered  the  Ninth  Ohio,  Germans,  to  fix  bayonets ; then 
moving  along  the  front,  he  shouted,  “ My  invincible  Ger- 
mans, charge!”  A moment  afterward  the  whole  regiment 
was  in  the  open  field,  and  with  shouts  rushed  upon  the 


REBEL  FINANCES — SLAVERY  AGAIN  IN  CONGRESS. 


911 


enemy,  who  lingered  for  a moment  as  if  bewildered,  and 
then  fled.  The  Union  troops  with  cheers  advanced  the 
whole  line,  and  their  defeat  was  complete ; nor  did  they 
stop  till  they  reached  their  entrenchments,  eight  miles  dis- 
tant. The  Union  forces  pushed  on,  and  late  in  the  after- 
noon commenced  a sharp  cannonade.  Night  came  on,  and 
Thomas  made  preparation  to  assault  in  the  morning.  At 
daylight  the  ramparts  were  scaled,  but  not  a man  was  to  be 
seen.  The  night  before  the  enemy  had  fled  silently,  leaving 
everything  in  their  camp,  lest  the  noise  of  destroying  their 
munitions  should  betray  their  design.  Their  commander. 
General  Zollicoffer,  had  been  killed,  and  they  were  com- 
pletely demoralized  and  abandoned  all  their  fortifications  in 
that  region. 

The  way  was  now  open  to  occupy  Cumberland  and 
Pound  Gaps,  and  an  entrance  into  East  Tennessee,  so  much 
dreaded  by  the  Confederate  authorities  ; but  General  Thomas 
was  ordered  to  cooperate  with  the  Federal  advance  toward 
Bowling  Green  and  Nashville. 

Jefferson  Davis  sent  in  a special  message  to  the  Confed- 
erate Congress.  This  document  was  evidently  designed  to 
produce  a certain  effect,  especially  in  England  and  France, 
to  whose  courts  he  had  just  sent  the  two  envoys.  Every 
conflict  thus  far  had  resulted  in  a glorious  victory  for  the 
rebels ; not  a word  was  said  of  the  progress  of  the  Federal 
cause  in  Missouri,  Kentucky,  and  West  Virginia ; not  a 
word  of  the  capture  of  Hatteras,  or  Hilton  Head,  or  Beau- 
fort. The  cotton-spinners  of  England  were  kindly  admon- 
ished that  the  blockade  might  diminish  the  supply  of  that 
article.  He  proclaimed  that  the  financial  system  adopted 
had  worked  well,  when  the  general  impression  was  that 
“their  National  Loan  and  the  Cotton  and  Produce  Loan” 
were  failures. 

The  question  of  the  slave  came  more  directly  than  usual 
before  Congress  on  its  assembling.  A change  was  in  prog- 
ress among  thinking  minds  in  the  free  States  in  respect  to 
his  position  in  this  contest.  He  was  used  by  the  nation’s 


CHAP. 

LVI1I. 

1861. 


Nov. 

18. 


Dec. 

2. 


912 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


yfrAi*-  enemies  to  build  fortifications,  to  raise  corn  and  cotton,  to 

» support  and  protect  the  families  of  those  who  were  in  the 

armies  of  the  rebellion.  He  had  been  happily  characterized 
as  a “contraband”  of  war;  yet  commanders  in  the  field 
had  usually  treated  him  as  a slave,  and  in  some  instances, 
when  a fugitive  in  the  Union  army,  he  had  been  restored  to 
his  master  when  the  latter  was  disloyal.  The  annual  report 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Cameron,  favored  negro  eman- 
cipation, and  remuneration  to  the  loyal  slave  owners. 

The  same  report  stated  that  the  total  number  in  the 
army  was:  infantry,  568,383  ; cavalry,  59,398;  artillery, 
24,686 ; rifles  and  sharpshooters,  8,395 ; engineers,  107. 
In  the  aggregate,  660,971,  of  which  20,334  were  of  the  reg- 
ular army.  The  rebel  army  numbered  about  350.000  men. 
There  is  no  data  for  an  accurate  estimate,  as  they  usually 
exaggerated  their  numbers  before  a battle  and  depreciated 
them  afterward. 

Around  Washington  an  army  of  about  200,000  was 
drilling  during  the  summer  and  the  entire  autumn,  and  no 
doubt  was  as  well  disciplined  as  any  such  body  of  men  could 
be.  The  people  became  impatient  that  this  numerous  and 
well  appointed  army  should  lie  idle  so  long ; and  the  sol- 
diers themselves  became  equally  impatient.  The  roads 
were  in  perfect  order  for  an  advance  on  the  enemy,  and  the 
weather  all  that  could  be  wished.  The  enemy  were  almost 
iu  sight,  flaunting  their  flags  and  holding  their  entrench- 
ments, while  their  newspapers  sneered  at  the  want  of  energy 
in  the  Union  commander.  In  other  portions  of  the  country 
the  Union  generals  made  advances  and  were  successful  in 
West  Virginia,  Missouri  and  Kentucky,  but  “ All  is  quiet 
on  the  Potomac  ” had  passed  into  a proverb.  The  enemy 
went  deliberately  into  winter  quarters  in  the  vicinity  of 
Centreville  and  along  the  upper  Potomac.  The  people 
began  to  feel  there  was  something  mysterious  in  this  delay. 

Jan.  The  President  appointed  Edwin  M.  Stanton  Secretary  of 
l5*  War  in  place  of  Mr.  Cameron,  resigned.  The  new  Secre- 
tary, by  his  untiring  energy  and  intense  loyalty,  was  most 


FORT  HENRY  CAPTURED. 


913 


efficient  in  promoting  the  Union  cause  ; stern  and  inflexible  chap. 

in  character,  obedient  only  to  the  dictates  of  duty.  

It  was  planned,  when  the  stage  of  water  in  the  Ten- 
nessee  and  the  Cumberland  would  admit  of  the  free  passage 
of  the  gunboats,  to  penetrate  the  Confederacy  along  these 
rivers,  and  thus  turn  the  strongholds  of  the  enemy  at  Colum- 
bus, on  the  Mississippi,  and  at  Bowling  Green,  in  Southern 
Kentucky.  Captain  A.  H.  Foote  had  been  detailed  from 
the  United  States  Navy  to  command  the  western  flotilla  of 
gunboats.  These  boats  were  of  somewhat  different  con- 
struction from  the  ocean-going,  being  flat-bottomed  and  not 
plated  so  heavily ; indeed  some  of  them,  from  the  lightness 
of  their  armor,  were  jocosely  styled  “ tin-clads.”  Grant 
had  about  30,000  men  gathered  at  Cairo,  Paducah  and 
Bird’s  Point.  Reconnoissances,  which  had  sorely  distracted 
the  enemy,  both  by  land  and  water,  ascertained  the  positions 
of  their  forces. 

At  length  the  expedition  was  ready  to  move ; ten  regi-  Feb. 
ments,  with  their  artillery  and  cavalry,  embarked  on 
transports  at  Cairo.  The  steamers  headed  up  stream  to 
Paducah,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee,  and  up  that 
river.  The  Confederates  now  learned  that  Fort  Henry  was 
to  be  attacked.  Captain  Foote,  with  his  gunboats,  bore 
the  steamers  company.  Four  miles  below  the  fort  the 
troops  under  General  McClernand  disembarked,  Foote 
meanwhile  shelling  the  woods  in  search  of  the  enemy. 

The  following  day  transports  brought  more  troops  and 
General  Grant. 

Captain  Foote  wished  the  attack  to  be  deferred  for  a 
day,  so  that  the  fort  could  be  so  invested  as  to  secure  the 
prisoners,  assuming  that  he  himself  could  subdue  the  fort 
before  the  troops  could  get  in  position.  The  gunboats  had 
not  yet  been  tried,  and  both  Grant  and  his  officers  evidently 
did  not  have  the  faith  in  them  that  the  captain  had.  Feb. 
Prompt  at  the  hour,  11  A.  m.,  General  McClernand  moved 
to  throw  his  division  on  the  road  leading  from  Fort  Henry 
to  Fort  Donelson  on  the  Cumberland.  Captain  Foote  also 


,914 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1862. 


moved  at  the  same  time,  and  passing  up  on  the  west  side  of 
an  island,  and,  the  water  being  high,  over  obstructions  put 
in  the  channel,  suddenly  came  into  the  river  near  the  fort. 
The  gunboats  took  their  position  and  began  to  throw  shots 
and  shells,  and  approached  nearer  and  nearer ; so  terrible 
was  the  storm  that  the  earthworks  crumbled  away  and 
nearly  one  half  of  the  fort’s  guns  were  dismounted,  and  the 
infantry  supports  of  the  artillery  fled,  the  insurgent  flag 
was  hauled  down  and  the  fort  surrendered  unconditionally. 
Only  130  prisoners  were  secured,  the  remainder  escaped,  as 
the  Union  forces  were  not  yet  in  position  to  capture  them, 
for,  true  to  his  word,  Foote  had  subdued  the  fort  in  one 
hour  and  fifteen  minutes.  The  astonishment  at  the  success 
of  the  gunboats  was  as  great  among  the  army  and  its  officers 
as  the  wholesome  dread  with  which  they  inspired  the  Con- 
federates. Unfortunately  the  boiler  of  the  Essex  gunboat 
was  struck  by  a cannon  ball,  and  the  issuing  steam  scalded 
twenty-four  of  the  men  and  killed  four  instantly,  otherwise 
the  boats  were  scarcely  injured. 

The  captain  sent  gunboats  in  pursuit  of  the  steamers, 
which  they  overtook  and  destroyed,  and  also  transports 
laden  with  supplies  for  the  enemy.  They  ascended  to 
Florence,  Ala.,  making  clean  work  of  all  war  material  on 
the  river.  The  Union  gunboats,  at  almost  every  point, 
were  welcomed  by  the  people.  Captain  Foote  returned  on 
the  evening  of  the  battle  to  Cairo,  to  repair  damages  to  the 
boats  and  prepare  for  the  expedition  against  Fort  Donelson 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Cumberland,  twelve  miles  east 
of  Fort  Henry.  The  Confederates  deemed  it  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  hold  this  place.  Thither  General 
A.  Sidney  Johnston  had  sent  troops  under  John  B.  Floyd 
and  Buckner,  the  former  having  chief  command. 

The  main  fort  stood  on  a gradually  rising  hill ; the  top, 
or  plateau,  contained  about  one  hundred  acres.  The  crest 
of  this  plateau  was  encircled  by  rifle  pits,  and  artillery  com- 
manded every  approach,  and  it  was  deemed  impregnable  by 


FORT  DOKELSOK. 


915 


the  enemy.  West  and  south  of  the  fort  were  hills  densely 
wooded  and  filled  with  ravines. 

Grant  moved  from  Fort  Henry  and  invested  Donelson 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day.  The  next  day  were 
fierce  artillery  duels;  sharpshooters  on  both  sides  were 
busy  ; desperate  sorties  by  the  enemy  were  repulsed  ; and  an 
equally  desperate  attempt  to  capture  a battery  that  annoyed 
the  Union  army  was  made  by  McClernand’s  order,  but  after 
a heroic  effort  failed. 

The  next  morning  Captain  Foote  came  up  with  six  gun- 
boats, and  at  2 p.  m.  commenced  the  bombardment  of  the 
fort.  The  boats  came  within  350  yards  of  the  water  bat- 
tery. For  more  than  an  hour  the  battle  raged.  Only  two 
of  the  enemy’s  guns  were  able  to  reply,  when  a chance  shot 
cut  the  tiller  chain  of  the  Louisville.  The  boat  veered 
round  and  exposed  her  side,  and  another  such  shot  broke 
the  rudder  post,  and  she  was  carried  helplessly  down  the 
current.  Encouraged  by  this  mishap,  the  enemy  directed 
all  their  fire  on  the  St.  Louis,  the  flag  boat,  a heavy  battery 
on  the  hill  joining  in.  The  St.  Louis  was  soon  as  helpless 
as  the  Louisville,  one  of  her  side  wheels  being  broken  by  a 
solid  shot,  and  she  too  floated  down  the  stream  after  having 
been  struck  fifty-nine  times. 

An  assault  had  been  intended  all  along  the  enemy’s  line 
when  the  fleet  had  silenced  the  guns  in  the  water  forts. 
After  the  result  was  known  General  Grant  consulted  with 
Foote,  and  it  was  deemed  best  to  repair  the  gunboats  and 
wait  for  the  mortar  floats,  that  were  not  in  readiness  when 
Foote  left  Cairo  at  the  peremptory  command  of  Halleck. 

Meantime  the  enemy  became  alarmed  lest  they  should  be 
so  hemmed  in  that  they  could  not  escape,  and  they  resolved 
to  cut  their  way  out  by  dislodging  their  besiegers.  Accord- 
ingly at  dawn  of  day  the  next  morning  they  moved  out  in 
three  divisions,  intending  to  converge  to  one  point  of 
attack  on  the  Federal  right  next  the  river ; but  they  unex- 
pectedly found  the  Union  army  prepared  in  front  of  their 
own  earthworks,  and  before  they  were  formed  in  line 


CHAP. 

LYIII. 


1862. 

Feb. 

12. 


Feb. 

14. 


Feb 

15. 


916 


HISTORY  OE  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LVIIL 


1862. 


of  battle  they  were  attacked  and  held  in  check,  but  only 
to  make  another  attempt,  and  thus  on  the  south  side  of  the 
fort  the  conflict  waged  for  five  hours.  Regiment  after 
regiment  of  these  inexperienced  Union  soldiers  took  their 
places  and  remained  till  their  ammunition  was  exhausted, 
and  they  were  relieved  by  fresh  troops.  Many  of  these 
when  their  cartridges  failed  begged  to  be  led  in  a bayonet 
charge  against  the  enemy.  Such  was  the  spirit  of  this 
whole  army.  The  battle  for  the  most  part  was  fought  in  a 
forest  with  a dense  undergrowth,  which  much  impeded 
rapid  movements.  The  Confederates  thus  far  had  made 
desperate  aggressive  attempts.  Now  Grant,  who  had  been 
absent  holding  a consultation  with  Captain  Foote,  in  turn 
determined  to  assault  their  lines,  and  he  ordered  the 
Federals,  about  one  p.m.,  to  carry  the  enemy’s  position 
by  assault.  This  was  most  handsomely  done,  the  enemy 
being  driven  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  to  their  inner 
works.  On  the  Federal  right  a similar  assault  was  made, 
with  the  same  result.  The  Union  army  held  all  their 
advanced  positions  during  the  night,  and  were  preparing 
to  renew  the  attack  in  the  morning.  This  gloomy  night 
was  passed  in  bringing  within  the  Union  lines  the  wound- 
ed, scattered  over  a space  of  two  miles  and  a half.  The 
Union  soldiers  and  the  Confederates  fared  alike,  being  cared 
for  with  equal  kindness. 

There  was  evidently  commotion  in  the  enemy’s  camp.  In 
the  morning,  when  the  Union  lines  advanced  at  daylight  to 
the  assault,  numerous  muskets  were  held  up  along  their 
ramparts  displaying  white  flags.  The  advance  halted,  and 
General  Buckner  desired  to  negotiate.  He  was  left  in 
command ; Floyd  and  Pillow  had  slipped  off  up  the  river 
with  some  of  their  followers  on  board  a transport,  and  left 
Buckner  to  bear  the  stigma  of  surrendering.  He  wished 
for  an  armistice  and  terms  of  capitulation.  General  Grant 
refused  the  request,  and  replied,  “ No  terms  except  uncon- 
ditional and  immediate  surrender  can  be  accepted  ; I pur- 
pose to  move  immediately  on  your  works.”  Buckner  at 


DONELSOl*  CAPTURED. 


917 


once  surrendered.  The  number  of  prisoners  was  nearly 
14,000,  and  their  killed  and  wounded  1,300 ; and  all  the 
guns  and  military  stores,  an  immense  amount.  This  vic- 
tory sent  dismay  into  the  Confederacy,  while  the  rejoicings 
in  the  loyal  States  were  great.  The  activity  and  energy  of 
the  Western  undrilled  armies  were  contrasted  with  the 
inactivity  and  discipline  that  reigned  around  Washington. 

Immediately  after  this  capture  the  enemy  evacuated 
Bowling  Green  and  moved  toward  Nashville,  which  place 
they  merely  passed  through,  destroying,  in  their  haste, 
both  the  railway  and  suspension  bridges  over  the  Cumber- 
land— an  unnecessary  destruction  of  property,  as  their 
ruin  scarcely  impeded  the  Union  army.  The  Legislature 
with  the  Governor  left  in  haste.  The  beautiful  city  was 
occupied  by  Federal  forces  and  order  restored.  That 
stronghold  Columbus,  on  the  Mississippi,  was  also  evacu- 
ated on  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Fort  Don- 
elson. 


CHAP. 

LVIII. 


1862. 


Feb. 

23. 


Feb. 

25. 


CH APTEE 


LIX. 


LINCOLN’S  ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 

Burnside’s  Expedition  to  North  Carolina— Capture  of  Newbern— Bat- 
tle of  Pea  Ridge— Capture  of  New  Madrid  and  Island  No  10— Battle 
of  Pittsburg  Landing  or  Shiloh— Capture  of  New  Orleans— Death 
of  Admiral  Foote— Battle  of  river  iron  clads— Capture  of  Mem- 
phis— Evacuation  of  Corinth — Plans  of  movements  on  Rich- 
mond—The  Merrimac  and  Monitor  duel. 


lix.  ’ On  the  Atlantic  coast  a naval  and  laud  expedition  under 
Commander  Goldsboro  and  General  A.  E.  Burnside  was 
fitted  out,  against  Koanoke  Island — the  scene  of  Sir  Walter 
Ealeigh’s  colony1 — and  to  make  a demonstration  on  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina,  to  encourage  the  Union  men,  and 
also  create  a diversion  south  of  Eichmond  and  Norfolk. 

In  approaching  Albemarle  Sound  the  rebel  fleet  and  an 
earthwork  known  as  Fort  Barton  were  encounted  ; the  ene- 
my’s fleet  soon  retired  out  of  harm’s  way,  and  Goldsboro 
opened  upon  the  fort,  but  was  not  able  to  reduce  it  after  a 
bombardment  of  some  hours.  During  the  night  the  troops 
■^gb*  landed,  and  in  the  morning,  under  General  Foster,  moved 
to  the  attack  over  a swampy  and  difficult  way.  On  the 
march  they  came  upon  a battery,  protected  by  a swamp  on 
either  side ; Foster  flanked  the  battery  right  and  left,  and 
when  the  Union  soldiers  came  out  upon  their  rear  flanks,  the 
enemy  threw  down  their  arms  and  fled.  This  success  was 


Hist.  pp.  72-74. 


ROANOKE — CAPTURE  OF  NEWBERN. 


919 


followed  up  and  their  entire  force — about  3,000 — on  the  chap. 

island  of  Roanoke  was  captured.  

1862 

Burnside  issued  the  usual  proclamation,  promising  pro- 
tection to  those  engaged  in  their  usual  avocations  and 
enjoining  the  Union  soldiers  not  to  injure  private  property 
on  their  march.  Roanoke  Island  became  the  base  of  opera- 
tions ; and  from  it  were  sent  out  many  expeditions  which 
essentially  interfered  with  the  English  blockade  runners  by 
seizing  harbors  and  filling  channels  of  approach. 

The  most  important  capture  of  Newbern  on  the  Ueuse 
was  accomplished  by  a combined  land  and  naval  force.  The 
troops  landed  17  miles  below  the  town,  and  marched  up  the 
road  along  the  river  bank  and  a railway  track  from  Beau- 
fort, the  gunboats  by  their  shells  keeping  the  enemy  at  a 
respectful  distance.  About  three  miles  below  the  town  was 
found  a formidable  fieldwork,  which  promised  to  offer 
much  resistance.  This  fortification  was  flanked  by  a swamp 
and  Burnside  sent  a detachment  round,  while  he  pressed 
the  enemy  in  front ; the  detachment  appeared  on  the  flank, 
but  the  Confederates  held  their  ground  until  a Rhode  Island 
regiment,  on  the  run,  charged  bayonet  and  changed  the 
tide  of  battle;  other  Union  troops  pressed  on  and  the  rout 
was  complete.  A portion  of  the  fleeing  enemy  reached  a 

train  of  cars  and  carried  the  news  of  defeat  to  Newbern.  ,, 

Mar. 

There,  as  was  their  custom,  they  began  to  burn  a bridge  14.* 
and  all  the  rosin  and  turpentine,  and  the  steamers  at  the 
wharf,  two  of  which  were  saved  by  the  United  States  gun- 
boats. The  enemy  had  wantonly  set  the  town  on  fire,  but 
the  citizens  with  aid  from  the  United  States  Marines  suc- 
ceded  in  putting  it  out,  though  not  until  the  best  Hotel 
and  the  Court  House  and  many  private  residences  were  con- 
sumed. General  Foster  was  installed  as  Military  Governor 
in  Newbern. 

Other  places  in  the  vicinity  were  captured,  such  as  Beau- 
fort and  Washington,  on  Pamlico  River.  Fort  Macon,  a 
strong  fortification  built  by  the  United  States  Government 
to  protect  the  harbor  of  Beaufort,  was  reduced  after  a bom- 


920 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AHERICAX  PEOPLE. 


CHAP 

LIX. 

1862. 


Mar. 

1. 


Mar. 


• bardment  of  eleven  hours.  This  secured  the  blockading 
■ fleet  one  of  the  finest  and  safest  harbors  on  the  coast. 

Major-General  S.  R.  Curtis  was  directed  by  General  Hal- 
leck  to  drive  Generals  Price  and  Pains  and  their  bands 
out  of  Missouri  into  Arkansas.  Curtis  was  soon  on  the 
march  toward  Springfield,  where  Price  and  his  band  had 
been  for  some  time.  The  latter  took  the  alarm  and  hastily 
retreated  South,  Curtis  pursuing  and  the  enemy  retreat- 
ing, till  at  length  they  reached  the  Boston  Mountains. 
Curtis  learned  that  they  were  concentrating  against  him 
under  General  Van  Dorn,  whose  army  numbered  about 
34,000  men  ; of  these  Ben  McCullough  had  13,000 — out- 
numbering the  Union  army  more  than  four  to  one.  These 
made  attacks  on  the  various  Federal  divisions  as  they  came 
up,  but  were  always  repulsed.  At  length  they  concentrated 
at  Pea  Ridge  in  Arkansas,  and  the  enemy  advanced  to  give 
battle,  which  raged  all  day  on  the  Federal  right  with, 
scarcely  a cessation.  The  ground  was  hilly  and  covered 
with  thick  underbrush  and  broken  up  by  ravines.  On  the 
left  wing  the  contest  was  equally  stubborn,  but  more  varied 
in  result.  Ben  McCullough  made  a desperate  assault  upon 
Colonel  Oesterhaus,  of  Sigel’s  division,  but  Curtis  ordered 
up  Davis’s  troops  to  the  Colonel’s  aid,  and  the  combined 
force  drove  the  enemy  headlong  from  the  field,  they  leaving 
dead  their  commanding  generals,  McIntosh  and  Ben  McCul- 
lough— the  latter  the  master-spirit  of  their  army.  Success 
had  also  crowned  the  left  wing.  During  the  night  both 
armies  lay  on  their  arms  ; the  Union  soldiers  resting  for  the 
first  time  in  two  days’  marching  and  sleepless  nights. 

At  sunrise  the  battle  was  renewed,  and  raged  most  of 
the  day  along  the  whole  line,  nearly  three  miles ; Sigel 
handling  his  artillery  with  wonderful  rapidity  and  effect. 
Every  attempt  to  break  the  Union  line  was  foiled.  For 
more  than  two  hours  this  continued,  when  Sigel  began  to 
advance  his  part  of  the  line ; the  enemy  sought  shelter  in 
the  woods,  but  the  Federals  charged  through  their  shelter 
and  drove  them  with  the  bayonet  to  an  open  field  beyond. 


ISLAND  NO.  10. 


921 


when  they  broke  and  fled  in  all  directions.  Thus  ended 
the  two  days’  fight  at  Pea  Kidge.  Never  before  had  the 
enemy  suffered  so  disastrous  a defeat.  Soon  after  those  who 
had  not  deserted  were  transferred  to  the  army  of  General 
S.  A.  Johnston,  again  to  meet  the  Union  soldiers  under 
General  Grant. 

The  National  Government  never  lost  sight  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  control  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  to  that 
end  Admiral  Foote  directed  his  attention  in  connection  with 
a land  force  under  General  Pope.  The  enemy  made  the  most 
strenuous  exertions  to  retain  their  hold  of  the  great  river  as 
a most  important  source  of  supplies,  both  beyond  it  and  on 
its  tributaries. 

The  islands  in  the  Mississippi  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio  downward  are  designated  by  numbers.  The  Confed- 
erates chose  available  points  on  the  river  to  fortify,  such  as 
New  Madrid  in  Missouri,  opposite  Island  No.  10,  Tipton- 
ville  in  Kentucky,  and  No.  10  itself — all  three  within  sup- 
porting distance.  To  this  island  they  had  directed  special 
attention,  Beauregard,  their  best  engineer,  superintending 
the  works  and  pronouncing  them  impregnable.  In  conse- 
quence here  were  collected  vast  military  stores  and  provi- 
sions as  for  a long  siege. 

Admiral  Foote  was  to  bombard  No.  10,  and  at  the  same 
time  Pope  to  capture  New  Madrid.  The  latter  found  the 
town  fortified  by  earthworks  and  defended  by  three  gun- 
boats, which,  because  of  the  high  water  in  the  river,  were 
able  to  sweep  its  banks,  and  in  the  face  of  these  guns  it 
would  be  impossible  to  hold  the  town  if  captured.  He 
therefore  sent  to  Cairo  for  siege  guns — 24  pounders.  These 
soon  came,  and  during  the  night  time  were  placed  in  posi- 
tion within  800  yards  of  the  enemy’s  main  fortification,  and 
in  the  morning  opened  upon  the  astonished  enemy,  every 
shot  telling  with  fine  effect,  dismounting  several  of  their 
heaviest  guns.  The  shot  also  reached  their  gunboats 
and  steamers  in  the  river,  compelling  them  to  hasten  out  of 
range.  A night  of  storm  and  rain  came  on,  and  in  the: 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 


Mas 

3. 


922 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AHERICAH  PEOPLE. 


chap,  morning,  just  as  the  guns  were  about  to  reopen,  a white  flag 

was  seen  approaching.  The  messenger  brought  word  that 

Mar.  the  enemy  had  evacuated  the  fort,  abandoning  everything, 
14.  and  the  town  authorities  wished  to  surrender. 

Immediately  after  the  surrender  General  Pope  prepared 
to  cooperate  with  Admiral  Foote  in  the  reduction  of  No. 
10.  The  latter  came  down  with  his  gun-boats  and  mortar- 
floats,  and  for  twenty-two  days  bombarded  the  island,  but 
without  effecting  any  great  break  in  the  works.  The  whole 
west  shore  of  the  river  opposite  the  island  was  under  water 
from  the  spring  freshets,  and  Pope  had  no  transports  to 
carry  his  men  to  the  east  side  of  the  river,  and  they  could 
not  pass  the  batteries  on  No.  10.  Pope  determined,  at  the 
suggestion  of  General  Hamilton,  to  cut  a canal  across  the 
peninsula,  in  the  rear  of  New  Madrid,  to  the  river  below, 
and  pass  through  this  the  transports.  By  an  ingenious 
apparatus  the  trees  were  sawed  off  four  and  a half  feet  below 
the  surface  of  the  overflowing  water,  and  thus  a passage 
was  made  for  the  transports  which  at  once  passed  through. 
This  unique  canal  was  twelve  miles  long  and  fifty  feet 
wide.  On  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  this  canal  was 
finished,  the  gunboat  Carondelet , in  the  midst  of  a thun- 
derstorm, ran  past  the  batteries  on  No.  10,  and  two  nights 
after  the  gunboat  Pittsburg  performed  the  same  feat.  These 
boats  soon  silenced  the  rebel  batteries  along  the  river  below. 
May  and  by  midnight  of  the  same  day  Pope’s  army  was  across 
the  river  and  pushing  for  Tipton ville  to  intercept  the  enemy 
fleeing  from  No.  10,  which  place,  it  was  rumored,  they  were 
evacuating.  Early  the  next  morning  No.  10  surrendered  to 
Admiral  Foote  “17  officers,  363  soldiers,  70  heavy  cannon, 
ranging  from  32  to  100  pounders,  the  latter  rifled,  and  an 
immense  amount  of  other  military  stores,  four  steamers  and 
a floating  battery.”  Meanwhile  Pope  had  intercepted  the 
retreating  foe,  who  laid  down  their  arms,  surrendering 
unconditionally  as  prisoners  of  war,  in  all  nearly  7,000.  A 
few  days  before  the  surrender  Beauregard  left  No.  10.  This 
defeat  and  loss  was  a source  of  great  mortification  to  the 


REBEL  ARMY— BATTLE  OF  SHILOH. 


923 


Confederate  authorities,  and  was  equally  a gratification  to 
the  loyal  people  of  the  free  States. 

General  Grant  and  his  army  left  Nashville  and  marched 
for  the  Tennessee  River,  which  they  reached,  about  240 
miles  from  its  month,  at  an  obscure  place  of  three  or  four 
houses,  known  as  Pittsburg  Landing,  but  now  famous  in 
the  annals  of  the  war. 

General  Buell  soon  after  began  the  march  with  his  Divis- 
ion for  the  same  place.  The  ultimate  point  sought  was 
Corinth,  a strategic  position  in  Northern  Mississippi  on  the 
Memphis  and  Charleston  railway.  For  two  months  the 
enemy  had  been  concentrating  here,  and  fortifying  the  hills 
in  the  immediate  vicinity,  General  A.  S.  Johnston  first  in 
command,  and  Beauregard  second.  The  most  strenuous 
efforts  were  made  to  resist  the  Union  army;  Manassas  and 
Centre ville  were  evacuated — McClellan  by  his  inactivity 
permitting  it — and  their  lines  drawn  more  closely  around 
Richmond  ; in  order  to  spare  troops  for  this  emer- 
gency; General  Bragg  was  ordered  from  Pensacola  with  his 
well-drilled  artillery  and  infantry;  Columbus  was  evacuated 
and  under  General-Bishop  Polk  the  garrison  marched  to 
the  same  point ; and  from  Arkansas,  late  from  Pea  Ridge, 
came  General  Van  Dorn,  bringing  15,000  men.  The  enemy 
advanced  from  their  stronghold  to  meet  Grant’s  army  at  the 
crossing,  and  if  possible  crush  him  before  Buell  could  bring 
up  his  forces.  The  Union  army  had  crossed  over  and  was 
stationed  in  a semi-circle,  the  center  in  the  front  of  the 
road  to  Corinth,  the  left  extending  round  to  the  river  at 
Hamburg,  four  miles  distant.  The  Shiloh  meeting-house 
stood  directly  out  in  the  country,  two  and  a half  miles  from 
the  landing  ; around  this  church  was  the  principal  conflict, 
hence  the  Confederates  name  the  battle  Shiloh.  The  coun- 
try west  of  the  landing  is  rough,  and  covered  with  a dense 
forest  of  scrub-oak  and  black  jack,  with  here  and  there 
an  open  field.  The  enemy  skirmished  more  or  less  for  two 
days,  no  doubt  to  ascertain  the  Federal  position. 

Early  Sunday  morning  they  drove  in  the  advanced 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 


Mar. 

18. 


924 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 

Apr. 

6. 


Federal  pickets.  The  entire  division  flew  to  arms  and 
awaited  the  enemy’s  advance.  After  an  hour’s  waiting 
they  came  on,  attacking  the  center ; and,  extending  their 
line  by  an  oblique  movement,  threw  an  overwhelming  force 
upon  the  left,  driving  the  Federals  back  and  capturing 
General  Prentiss  and  his  regiment  almost  entire.  They 
pressed  on,  turning  to  the  left,  but  were  held  in  check  by 
three  Illinois  regiments  till  they  were  overpowered  and 
forced  to  retire,  losing  three  guns.  General  W.  T.  Sher- 
man still  held  his  first  line  at  the  meeting-house  until  the 
enemy  passed  round  to  his  rear,  when  he  fell  back  and  took 
a new  position.  <e  My  division,”  he  says,  “ was  made  up 
of  regiments  perfectly  new,  nearly  all  having  recently 
received  their  muskets.”  Great  numbers  of  these  fright- 
ened men  found  their  way  back  to  the  river,  two  miles 
distant,  and  no  efforts  of  their  officers  could  induce  them 
to  return.  The  enemy  by  main  force  drove  the  Union  left 
through  their  camp  toward  the  river,  but  were  at  length 
held  at  bay  for  four  hours  by  the  pluck  of  General  McCler- 
nand  and  his  troops.  The  Confederates  had  planned  not 
to  attack  but  in  overpowering  numbers;  thus  when  they 
attacked  the  center  they  deployed  their  main  force  against 
the  left.  They  well  knew  that,  if  at  all,  they  must  crush 
this  advanced  Union  force  before  Buell  could  come  up,  or 
troops  under  Generals  Nelson  and  Thomas  could  reach  the 
field  of  battle.  At  five  p.m.  was  a brief  lull  in  the  firing. 
The  enemy  fell  back,  and  then  suddenly,  as  if  to  take  the 
Federals  by  surprise,  threw  forward  their  whole  force  for 
the  second  time,  with  such  fierceness  and  desperation  that 
the  Union  army  was  compelled  to  fall  back.  Just  then  the 
gunboats  Lexington  and  Tvler  came  up  the  river.  They 
soon  learned  by  a messenger  from  General  Grant  the  posi- 
tion of  the  enemy.  The  boats  took  their  station  and  sent 
in  with  great  rapidity  their  shot  and  shell,  the  latter  burst- 
ing amid  the  ranks  of  the  Confederates.  “The  shells 
hurling  death  and  destruction  through  the  scrub-oak  jun- 
gles under  whose  cover  the  enemy  fought  securely.”  In 


BATTLE  CONTINUED. 


925 


less  than  thirty  minutes  they  had  silenced  the  rebel  batter- 
ies. Just  before  the  boats  opened  fire  Buell’s  advanced 
division  appeared  on  the  Union  right,  and  they  successfully 
resisted  the  last  charge  of  the  enemy  that  day.  This  was 
nearly  a great  victory.  They  had  the  advantage  of  supe- 
rior numbers  ; on  the  morrow  that  would  be  changed. 
General  A.  Sidney  Johnston,  their  commander-in-chief, 
was  among  the  slain. 

The  Union  army  in  this  battle  numbered  about  38,000, 
while  the  enemy  had  45,000,  under  their  best  generals — 
A.  S.  Johnston,  Beauregard,  Bishop  Polk,  and  Hardee — 
and  the  best  fighting  material  they  had  in  the  field  ; but  in 
endurance  and  cool,  determined  courage  the  Northern 
soldiers  were  superior,  though  the  Southern  had  the  more 
dash. 

Reinforcements  for  the  Union  army  began  to  arrive  on 
the  evening  of  the  battle.  The  remainder  of  Buell’s  forces  ; 
Nelson  and  Crittenden’s  divisions,  some  on  foot  and  some 
on  steamers ; two  batteries  of  the  regular  army,  and 
McCook’s  division,  by  a forced  march,  reached  the  landing 
early  the  following  morning. 

It  was  General  Grant’s  turn  now  to  take  the  offensive, 
and  a general  advance  was  ordered  to  begin  at  5 o’clock  the 
next  morning.  The  hostile  pickets  were  driven  in  and  the 
battle  became  general  along  the  whole  line.  At  10  A.  m. 
the  Union  army  was  moving  forward  and  forcing  the  enemy 
step  by  step  from  point  to  point,  and  though  occasionally 
checked,  the  Union  army  moved  steadily  forward;  their 
fire  was  regular  as  clock-work,  and  the  divisions  sustained 
each  other  admirably.  At  length  the  enemy,  after  repeated 
attempts  to  break  through  the  Union  lines  and  failing, 
seemed  to  despair  of  succeeding.  For  seven  long  hours 
they  had  fought  valiantly.  Beauregard  made  the  most 
strenuous  exertions  and  exposed  himself  in  his  efforts  to 
prevent  his  army  falling  back  toward  Corinth.  The  pursuit 
was  not  pressed  vigorously  owing  to  the  intervening  woods, 
which  impeded  the  movements  of  cavalry,  and  the  infantry 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 


Apr. 

7. 


926 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 


Mar. 

16. 


Apr. 

4. 


only  pursued  the  retreating  foe  for  a mile  or  two.  The 
enemy  fell  back  to  their  entrenchments  at  Corinth,  and 
Beauregard  proclaimed  a great  Confederate  victory ; that 
was  for  the  public,  but  his  private  dispatch  to  Jefferson 
Davis,  captured  at  Huntsville  by  General  0.  M.  Mitch  el, 
told  the  true  story,  calling  for  reinforcements,  and  saying  : 
“ If  defeated  here  we  lose  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  prob- 
ably our  cause.” 

The  Union  loss  in  killed,  1,785  ; wounded,  7,883  ; the 
rebel,  killed,  1,728,  and  wounded,  8,012.  The  enemy,  for 
the  most  part,  were  better  protected  by  the  dense  woods,  as 
they  fought  on  ground  of  their  own  choosing. 

While  these  stirring  events  were  enacting  in  the  West  a 
combined  expedition  was  fitting  out  against  New  Orleans  in 
the  East,  General  B.  E.  Butler  to  command  the  laud  forces 
and  Admiral  D.  S.  Farragut  the  naval.  Through  the  influ- 
ence of  Butler  the  men  for  the  enterprise  were  principally 
enlisted  in  New  England.  The  rendezvous  for  the  troops 
was  Ship  Island,  lying  in  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  midway  be- 
tween Mobile  and  2s  ew  Orleans,  by  way  of  Lake  Poutchar- 
train,  thus  threatening  either  place.  A powerful  fleet  of 
mortar  boats  had  been  fitted  out  at  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard 
under  the  direction  of  Captain  David  D.  Porter.  This  flo- 
tilla joined  the  fleet  off  the  mouth  passes  of  the  Mississippi. 
Admiral  Farragut  commanded  the  whole  armament,  and 
Porter,  under  him,  had  control  of  the  mortar  boats.  The 
whole  fleet  and  transports  soon  passed  within  the  passes,  and 
gunboats  acted  as  pickets  up  the  river  to  give  notice  of  the 
approach  of  certain  iron-clads  and  rams  and  fire  rafts — 
huge  barges  laden  with  split  pine  over  which  had  been  poured 
melted  pitch,  rendering  them  highly  inflammable.  One  of 
these  rams,  the  Manassas , carried  English  rifled  guns. 
They  also  had  an  iron-clad  floating  battery,  the  Louisiana , 
besides  18  armed  steamers,  some  of  which  were  protected 
by  an  armor  of  iron.  Their  naval  commander,  Hollins,  an- 
nounced that  with  these  he  would  annihilate  the  Union 
fleet.  An  exceedingly  strong  chain  was  stretched  on  floats 


FORTS  ST.  PHILIP  AND  JACKSON — REBEL  FLEET. 


927 


across  the  channel  from  Fort  Jackson  to  the  opposite  shore, 
near  to  Fort  St.  Philip.  This  chain  was  commanded  by 
the  guns  of  the  forts.  These  forts — 75  miles  below  the 
city — were  very  strong  structures  built  by  the  United  States 
Government.  Fort  Jackson  had  120  guns  and  St.  Philip 
nearly  as  many.  In  addition,  the  enemy  had  flanking  bat- 
teries commanding  the  river  for  three  miles,  and  also  the 
approach  from  Lake  Pontchar train. 

Arrangements  completed,  the  Union  squadron  moved 
to  the  attack.  Then  occurred  one  of  the  most  terrible 
cannon  battles  on  record.  Fourteen  mortar-boats,  throw- 
ing immense  shells  from  the  west  shore,  and  six  others  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  in  the  swamp  passages,  and  so 
covered  by  green  bushes  as  to  be  well  masked,  six  ships 
of  war,  and  gunboats  up  and  down  the  stream  took  part  in 
the  thunderous  fray,  while  the  forts  replied  with  great 
vigor.  The  bombardment  lasted  all  day ; the  guns  in  the 
embrasures  of  Fort  Jackson  were  silenced,  and  also  the  last 
one  on  the  side  of  St.  Philip.  Meanwhile  Hollins  sent 
down  fire-rafts  in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  but  they  did  but 
little  harm,  as  they  were  all  destroyed  by  balls  from  the 
guns  or  seized  by  grappling  irons  prepared  for  the  purpose 
and  towed  where  they  could  harmlessly  burn.  At  night  a 
deserter  came  aboard  and  informed  Porter  of  the  condition 
of  the  forts.  From  his  statement  it  was  evident  they  could 
not  be  reduced  for  several  days.  This  information  deter- 
mined Farragut  to  run  past  the  forts,  and  orders  were  given 
to  prepare  for  the  hazardous  attempt.  Meantime  the  mor- 
tar-boats continued  to  throw  shells  into  the  forts. 

That  night  two  parties  in  boats  passed  up  and  cut  the 
chain  without  being  discovered,  and  also  a boat  with 
muffled  oars  passed  above  the  forts  and  took  soundings,  find- 
ing the  channel  free  of  obstructions.  This,  even,  the  enemy 
did  not  discover,  though  they  had  large  fires  burning  all 
night  along  the  shore  to  prevent  surprises. 

Orders  were  passed  that  night  from  ship  to  ship  to  pre- 
pare to  run  the  gauntlet,  and  at  2 o’clock  in  the  morning 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 


Apr. 

18. 


Apr. 

24. 


928 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 


the  fleet  was  under  way.  The  darkness  was  so  great  that 
the  sentinels  at  the  fort  did  not  discover  the  movement 
until  the  first  division  approached  the  chain,  in  a minute 
more,  and  both  the  forts  opened.  This  was  the  signal  for 
Porter,  who,  with  his  mortars,  threw  a shower  of  bursting 
shells  inside  the  forts,  which  interfered  materially  with 
their  firing  ; the  vessels  as  they  passed  by  poured  in  their 
broadsides.  As  they  passed  beyond  the  forts  they  found 
themselves  in  the  midst  of  hostile  iron-clads  and  rams ; the 
latter  butting  in  every  direction.  The  Union  gunboats, 
generally,  were  able  to  dodge  them,  and  in  turn  pay  them 
the  compliment  of  a broadside.  The  Cayuga , a swift 
vessel,  passing  through  compelled  three  steamers  to  strike 
their  flags.  The  ram  Manassas  was  running  round  butting 
at  anything  in  the  smoke  and  darkness  ; finally,  she  ran 
foul  of  the  Brooklyn , which  gave  her  a broadside  with  her 
heavy  guns,  and  the  ram  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 
Only  one  vessel  was  lost,  the  Varuna , Captain  Boggs.  The 
career  of  this  vessel  deserves  relating.  The  captain  finding 
himself  “in  a nest  of  rebel  steamers”  started  forward,  giv- 
ing broadsides  right  and  left ; the  first  went  into  a steamer 
crowded  with  troops,  exploded  her  boilers  and  she  drifted 
ashore  ; afterward  three  other  vessels  were  driven  ashore  in 
flames  and  blown  up.  Then  the  Varuna  was  attacked  by 
an  iron-clad  ram,  which  raked  her  and  butted  her  on  the 
quarter,  but  she  managed,  meantime,  to  plant  three  8-inch 
shells  in  the  armor  of  her  foe,  and  a rifle  shot,  when  the 
ram  dropped  out  of  action.  At  this  moment  another 
large  iron-clad,  with  a prow  under  water,  struck  the 
Varuna  in  the  port  gangway,  doing  considerable  damage ; 
then  her  enemy  drew  off  and  made  another  plunge  and 
struck  again  in  the  same  place,  crushing  in  her  sides  ; now 
the  Varuna  gave  her  antagonist  five  8-inch  shells ; these 
settled  her,  and  she  floated  ashore  in  flames.  The  Varuna 
herself  was  in  a sinking  condition  ; but  her  men  were  taken 
off  by  boats  from  the  other  vessels  before  she  went  down. 
All  along  the  river  bank  were  stranded  rebel  steamers  and 


REBEL  FLEET  DESTROYED — NEW  ORLEANS  SURRENDERS.  929 


rams,  nearly  all  on  fire  from  Union  shots  and  shells ; two  chap. 

or  three  steamers  and  the  iron-clad  battery  Louisiana  had  

escaped,  and  sought  protection  under  the  guns  of  Fort  ' 
Jackson  ; two  or  three  hundred  prisoners  were  taken. 

The  next  day  Farragut  was  ready  to  move,  and  the  fol- 
lowing morning  the  fleet  steamed  up  the  river,  and  after 
being  delayed  one-half  hour  to  silence  some  batteries,  he 
reached  New  Orleans  in  the  afternoon,  and  demanded  its  Apr. 
surrender,  which  was  complied  with  by  the  mayor.  General 
Lovel,  who  was  in  command,  before  leaving  the  city  had 
fired  the  long  line  of  ships,  steamers  and  flat-boats,  and 
vast  stores  of  cotton,  tobacco  and  sugar — a most  wanton 
destruction  of  private  property,  not  all  contraband  of  war. 

The  United  States  public  buildings  were  taken  possession 
of  by  Union  soldiers  to  protect  them.  The  forts  Jackson 
and  St.  Philip  also  capitulated  when  the  fall  of  New 
Orleans  was  known.  General  Butler  arrived  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  commandant  of  the  city  and  vicinity.  Apr. 
The  city  was  garrisoned  immediately — the  troops  marching 
in  to  the  tune  of  “ Yankee  Doodle,”  and  order  restored 
under  the  skillful  and  energetic  rule  of  Butler.  He  pre- 
pared his  proclamation  and  sent  it  to  the  various  papers  to 
be  published.  They  all  refused.  A sufficient  number  of 
practical  printers  volunteered  from  the  ranks,  took  possess- 
ion of  one  of  the  offices,  and  issued  the  proclamation.  This 
incident  was  similar  to  many  others  that  occurred  during 
this  war  showing  the  intelligence  and  industrial  skill  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  Union  armies. 

Farragut  sent  the  gunboat  Iroquois , Captain  Palmer,  up 
the  river  to  the  capital  of  the  State,  Baton  Rouge,  which 
surrendered  on  demand ; then  to  Natchez,  Mississippi,  May 
which  place  surrendered  ; and  then  to  Vicksburg,  which  was 
found  to  be  fortified  and  garrisoned,  and  she  refused  to  run 
up  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  Her  time  came  in  due  season. 

During  this  time  Admiral  Foote  and  General  Pope  were 
working  their  way  down  the  Mississippi,  capturing  fortified 
places  one  after  another  ; delayed  a few  days  at  Fort  Wright, 


930 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  Chickasaw  Bluffs.  Here  Pope  was  ordered  to  join  Halleck 
— — at  Corinth  ; and  Admiral  Foote,  at  the  imperative  orders 
^fpp'  of  his  physician,  also  retired  from  the  service  on  account  of 
12.  wounds  received  in  the  attack  on  Fort  Donelson.  A few 
weeks  later  he  died,  a victim  of  patriotic  ardor,  and  cheerful 
in  the  Christian’s  hope. 

Captain  J.  E.  Davis  succeeded  Admiral  Foote ; a few 
days  after,  he  defeated  a rebel  fleet  of  iron-clads  and  armed 
steamers  under  Captain  Montgomery,  in  a conflict  of  thirty 
minutes  ; Fores  Wright  and  Pillow  were  abandoned  by  the 
June  enemy  ; this  opened  the  way  down  toward  Memphis.  The 
^ Union  fleet  was  joined  by  Captain  Ellet’s  rams  of  unique 
construction  ; made  out  of  powerful  tug-boats.  The  whole 
fleet  passed  down  to  island  No.  45,  two  miles  above  Mem- 
phis, off  which  place  lay  the  Confederate  iron-clads.  At  four 
a.m..  Captain  Davis  steamed  down  to  find  the  enemy’s  fleet 
June  011  the  alert.  The  battle  began  at  long  range,  but  Ellet’s 
two  rams,  the  Queen  of  the  West  and  the  Monarch , passed 
rapidly  by  the  Union  gunboats,  and  rushed  with  great  im- 
petuosity into  the  midst  of  the  rebel  boats,  firing  heavy 
shots  right  and  left,  and  when  opportunity  served  plying 
the  enemy  with  hot  water  by  means  of  a hose  of  peculiar 
construction.  Then  came  on  the  gunboats,  and  the  result 
of  this  singular  contest  was  that  only  one  of  the  ten  gun- 
boats of  the  Confederates  escaped — they  either  being  sunk 
or  blown  up.  In  consequence  of  this  destruction  of  their 
whole  fleet  Memphis  surrendered  unconditionally. 

The  Confederates  deemed  Corinth  an  important  strategic 
point,  being  at  the  junction  of  the  Memphis  and  Charleston 
and  Mooile  and  Ohio  railways,  but  that  importance  'was 
gone  as  soon  as  the  roads  were  cut  and  Memphis  in  the 
hands  of  the  Union  forces.  General  Halleck  assumed  com- 
mand after  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  and  advanced 
into  the  vicinity  of  Corinth  and  commenced  digging  paral- 
lels and  making  approaches.  Thus  he  spent  six  weeks. 
The  enemy  in  the  meantime,  were  leisurely  carrying  away 
30.  their  war  material,  and  when  this  was  done  they  evacuated 


COKINTH  ABANDONED — QUIET  ON  THE  POTOMAC. 


931 


their  stronghold,  while  Halleck  kept  120,000  men  within 
striking  distance  until  they  were  well  on  their  way.  Gen- 
eral Pope  was  sent  in  pursuit,  but  captured  only  about  2,000 
prisoners.  This  was  the  only  instance,  thus  far,  of  undue 
tardiness  in  a Western  army.  The  enemy  had  47,000  men. 

We  have  seen  the  Union  soldiers  in  the  West  gaining 
battle  after  battle,  and  in  no  instance  failing  to  accomplish 
their  ultimate  object.  They  met  the  enemy  in  superior 
numbers  at  Pea  Eidge  and  drove  them  out  of  Missouri , 
they  captured  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  and  opened 
up  the  Tennessee  and  the  Cumberland  rivers,  compelling 
the  evacuation  of  that  stronghold,  Columbus ; won  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  and  compelled  the  enemy  to  retire  to 
Corinth,  which  in  turn  they  were  made  to  abandon.  Along 
the  South  Atlantic  coast  battles  had  been  fought,  and  place 
after  place  had  been  captured  and  held ; an  expedition 
against  New  Orleans  had  been  eminently  successful,  and 
now,  after  many  conflicts,  the  whole  of  the  Mississippi  was 
held  from  above  to  down  below  Memphis,  and  from  its 
mouth  up  to  Vicksburg.  While  these  advances  were  pro- 
gressing, the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  chafing  at  their 
imposed  inactivity,  and  drilling  in  entrenchments  around 
the  National  Capital. 

General  McClellan  had  asked  for  men  till  his  numbers 
had  gradually  increased  in  February  to  222,196  names  on 
his  roll,  of  whom  193,142  were  fit  for  duty.  In  the  pre- 
vious August,  in  a note  to  President  Lincoln,  he  says : <e  I 
propose  with  this  force  to  move  into  the  heart  of  the 
enemy’s  country,  and  crush  the  rebellion  in  its  very  heart.” 
Yet  no  movement  was  made.  Time  passed  on,  and  McClel- 
lan did  not  intimate  to  the  anxious  President  or  Secretary 
of  War  that  he  had  any  plans  of  a campaign.  Several  con- 
ferences were  held  by  the  President  and  some  members  of 
his  Cabinet,  at  one  of  which  the  President  asked  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  what  he  intended  to  do  with  his  army. 
After  a long  pause,  he  remarked  he  “ was  very  unwilling  to 
develop  his  plans,  but  would  do  so  if  ordered.”  The  Presi- 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 


Feb 

1. 


932 


HISTORY  OE  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 

Jan. 

13. 


Feb. 

22. 


dent  asked  if  he  had  fixed  any  time  in  his  own  mind  when 
he  would  move  the  army.  The  reply  was,  he  had.  “ On 
that,”  rejoined  the  President,  “I  will  adjourn  this  meet- 
ing.” Yet  McClellan  for  weeks  gave  no  intimation  of 
moving.  At  length  the  President  felt  it  his  duty  to  order  a 
general  advance  of  the  Union  armies  on  the  22d  of  Febru- 
ary. It  is  a coincidence  that  on  this  day  Jefferson  Davis 
was  inaugurated  at  Richmond  President  of  the  Confederacy 
for  six  years,  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens  Vice-President. 
Perhaps  the  President  in  designating  this  day  had  in  mind 
that  it  was  the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Washington. 

Previous  to  this  President  Lincoln  addressed  a note  to 
McClellan,  saying,  “Your  plan  is  by  the  Chesapeake,  up 
the  Rappahannock  to  Urbana  on  the  York ; mine  to  move 
directly  to  a point  on  the  railroad  south-west  of  Manassas. 
If  you  will  give  satisfactory  answers  to  the  following  ques- 
tions I shall  gladly  yield  my  plan  to  yours  : Does  not  your 
plan  involve  a greatly  larger  expenditure  of  time  and  money 
than  mine  ? Wherein  is  a victory  more  valuable  by  your 
plan  than  by  mine  ? In  fact,  would  it  not  be  less  valuable 
in  this,  that  it  would  break  no  great  line  of  the  enemy’s 
communications,  while  mine  would  ? In  case  of  disaster, 
would  not  a retreat  be  more  difficult  by  your  plan  than 
mine?”  No  direct  reply  was  made  to  these  questions, 
though  a report  of  the  same  date  by  the  General-in-Chief 
was  claimed  to  answer.  The  plan  of  the  President  and  his 
advisers  was  virtually  the  one  selected  by  General  Grant 
when  he  advanced  on  Richmond. 

When  the  Norfolk  navy-yard  was  destroyed  and  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  the  Merrimac  steam  frigate 
was  partially  burned  and  sunk,  but  was  afterward  raised 
by  the  enemy  and  made  over  as  an  iron-clad  of  tremendous 
power.  From  hints  thrown  out  by  their  newspapers  this 
mysterious  monster  became  a source  of  great  dread  to  the 
fleet  in  and  around  the  lower  Chesapeake  and  Hampton 
Roads. 

Meanwhile  Captain  Ericsson  was  building  at  New  York 


THE  MERRIMAC — THE  CUMBERLAND  SUNK. 


933 


a unique  iron-clad  on  a new  principle*  his  own  invention. 
This  was  a revolving  turret,  made  entirely  of  successive 
layers  of  wrought  iron  plates  to  the  thickness  of  eleven 
inches.  This  turret  was  turned  at  will  by  steam  ; within  it 
were  two  rilled  guns  throwing  each  an  elongated  shot 
weighing  175  pounds,  and  loaded  by  machinery  ; the  turret 
had  two  protected  port-holes,  and  was  placed  on  an  iron- 
clad hulk,  the  deck  of  which  was  only  about  three  feet 
above  the  water  and  clear  of  every  thing  except  the  turret. 

For  many  weeks  the  sloop  of  war  Cumberland  and  the 
frigate  Congress  had  watched  off  Newport  News  for  the 
expected  monster,  now  called  the  Virginia  by  the  enemy. 
On  the  morning  of  March  8th  she  suddenly  steamed  out 
from  the  navy  yard  at  Gosport,  and  made  for  the  Cumber- 
land, but  when  passing  by  the  Congress  gave  her  a 
broadside,  doing  much  damage.  The  Cumberland  had  a 
heavy  armament  of  9 and  10-inch  Dahlgren  guns,  and  she 
poured  in  her  broadsides  with  precision  ; but  these  heavy 
balls  glanced  harmlessly  off  the  sloping  sides  of  the  Merri- 
mac , while  one  of  her  solid  shots  tore  through  the  wooden 
sloop’s  bulwarks.  The  Cumberland’s  men  fought  desper- 
ately, warping  round  their  vessel  to  give  effective  broadsides; 
presently  the  Merrimac  rushed  at  full  speed  upon  the 
Cumberland  and  pierced  her  hull  below  the  water  line, 
making  a hole  four  feet  in  diameter,  and  crushing  in  the 
frigate’s  upper  decks,  still  pouring  in  solid  shot  and  making 
a horrible  slaughter  on  the  crowded  decks.  Of  the  450 
men  on  board  not  a man  wavered  in  this  presence  of  death  ; 
their  vessel  was  fast  tilling ; in  five  minutes  the  water 
reached  the  berth  deck  where  lay  the  dying  and  wounded. 
It  was  seen  by  her  officers  that  the  vessel  must  sink  ; at  the 
last  moment  a salute  was  fired  in  honor  of  their  country’s 
flag  ; hardly  had  this  been  done  when  the  ship  gave  a lurch 
and  disappeared  under  the  water.  More  than  300  of  these 
brave  fellows  perished,  the  remainder  were  picked  up  by 
boats  which  put  off  from  shore. 

Meanwhile  the  Congress  was  engaged  with  the  Merri - 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 


Mar. 

8. 


934 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 

Apr. 

6. 


Mar. 

9. 


mads  two  steam  tenders — the  Jamestown  and  the  Patrick 
Henry . She  was  towed  into  shallow  water  and  grounded, 
but  not  out  of  reach  of  the  Merrimads  guns,  which  soon 
disabled  every  gun  on  board  the  frigate  and  set  her  on  fire. 
Lieutenant  Pendegrast  hauled  down  his  flag  to  spare  further 
slaughter.  An  officer  from  the  Merrimac  boarded  the 
Congress  and  received  the  surrender,  but  when  on  his  way 
back  some  persons  on  the  shore  fired  rifles  upon  his  tug. 
When  he  returned  the  Merrimac  shelled  the  shore  and 
resumed  fire  upon  the  helpless  Congress,  whose  men  were 
not  responsible  for  the  firing  from  the  shore.  It  was  a most 
unwarrantable  slaughter  of  innocent  men.  The  Congress 
wras  set  on  fire  by  these  shells  and  burned  until  the  maga- 
zine was  exploded ; 150  men  were  lost.  The  Merrimac 
now  made  for  the  steam  frigate  Minnesota . which,  when 
coming  to  engage  in  the  conflict,  had  grounded  three  miles 
away.  The  commander  of  the  Merrimac , afraid  of  getting 
into  shallow  water,  contented  himself  by  firing  a few  shots 
at  long  range  which  did  but  little  harm.  The  rebel  iron- 
clad withdrew  at  seven  in  the  evening  to  renew  her  work  of 
destruction  in  the  morning,  which  was  to  sink  or  destroy 
every  ship  of  war  in  the  roads,  and  then  what  could  she  not 
do  ? The  seaboard  cities  would  be  at  her  mercy.  No 
wonder  this  was  a night  of  gloom  in  the  Roads  and  of 
anxiety  all  over  the  land,  whither  the  telegraph  had  carried 
the  news  of  these  disasters. 

Just  after  the  Merrimac  disappeared  a singular  looking 
craft  appeared  in  the  offing  ; it  was  the  Ericsson  invention 
— the  Monitor  — of  which  we  have  just  spoken.  She 
reported  for  duty  and  took  her  position  near  the  Minne- 
sota. 

Early  Sunday  morning  the  Merrimac  was  seen  coming 
from  behind  Sewall’s  Point.  She  ran  down  near  the  Rip 
Raps,  then  turned  and  ran  for  the  grounded  frigate,  whose 
heavy  stern  guns  gave  her  their  solid  shot.  The  Monitor — 
designated  by  the  sailors  as  a cheese-box  on  a raft — ran 
down  to  meet  the  monster,  which  seemed  to  look  askance 


THE  MERRIMAC  AND  MONITOR  DUEL. 


985 


at  the  little  craft,  and  threw  a shot  at  her,  as  if  to  say,  Get  cgAP. 

out  of  the  way  or  you  may  be  hurt  : but  instead,  placing  

herself  between  the  Minnesota  and  her  antagonist,  she  paid  0D^' 
her  respects  by  a solid  shot  of  175  pounds.  The  Merrimac 
now  turned  with  her  broadsides  against  the  turret,  but 
without  effect.  The  Monitor’s  two  guns  deliberately  put  in 
their  shot.  The  Merrimac  attempted  to  run  down  her 
little  antagonist,  and  only  once  grazed  her.  The  nimble 
Monitor  was  under  such  perfect  control  that  she  would 
dodge  her  enemy,  and  as  she  passed  regularly  gave  her  a 
shot.  The  Merrimac  now  gave  up  the  attempt  to  run  the 
craft  down,  but  turned  her  attention  to  the  Minnesota , but 
the  Monitor  again  interposed  by  placing  herself  between 
the  combatants  ; and  the  Merrimac , to  get  rid  of  her, 
stood  down  the  bay,  the  Monitor  pursuing.  Presently  the 
Merrimac  turned  and  ran  full  speed  at  her  pursuer,  which 
dodged  her  enemy,  and,  as  she  passed,  plunged  a shot  into 
her  iron  roof.  The  Merrimac  soon  turned  and  made  for 
Sewall’s  Point,  pursued  for  some  distance  by  the  Monitor ; 
but  as  the  latter  had  orders  only  to  act  on  the  defensive, 
she  withdrew  as  soon  as  the  victory  was  won.  It  has  never 
transpired  how  much  injury  the  Merrimac  received.  It  is 
certain,  however,  she  no  more  ventured  out  from  her  May 
anchorage,  where  she  was  carefully  guarded  by  land  batter- 
ies,  and  in  the  end  was  blown  to  pieces  lest  she  should  fall 
into  Federal  hands.  Thus  ended  the  most  influential  naval 
duel  that  ever  occurred,  as  it  revolutionized  the  naval  war- 
fare of  the  world.  All  the  naval  powers  now  began  to 
build  iron-clads  and  virtually  throw  aside  wooden  men-of- 
war.  The  United  States  Government  also  began  to  build 
monitors  of  various  sizes,  some  very  large,  and  soon  had  a 
fleet  of  iron-clads  more  powerful  than  the  war  fleets  of  all 
the  world  combined. 

At  the  last  broadside  of  the  Merrimac , Captain  Worden, 
the  commander  of  the  Monitor , was  in  the  pilot-house,  and 
when  looking  through  the  eye-crevice  a heavy  shot  struck 
the  house  and  the  concussion  knocked  him  senseless.  When 


936 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIX. 


1862. 


consciousness  returned,  the  fight  was  over  and  all  was 
silent.  He  anxiously  asked,  “ Have  I saved  the  frigate?” 
“ Aye,  aye,  and  whipped  the  Merrimac ,”  was  the  answer. 
“ Then  I care  not  what  becomes  of  me,”  said  he. 

When  the  firing  on  Sumter  took  place,  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  loyal  people  of  the  free  States,  and  the  offi- 
cers of  the  National  Government,  had  hitherto  complied 
faithfully  with  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  and  of  the 
laws  of  Congress  in  respect  to  the  rendition  of  fugitive 
slaves.  Even  when  it  was  known  that  more  than  a thou- 
sand of  that  class  had  been  for  weeks  repairing  fortifica- 
tions, throwing  up  earthworks,  and  mounting  guns 
against  Fort  Sumter,  yet  the  loyal  people  did  not  realize 
that  by  this  act  the  relation  of  the  slaves  to  the  Union 
had  been  changed.  So  strong  was  the  influence  of  law, 
that  for  some  time  after  the  war  began  the  slaves  who 
fled  in  search  of  freedom  to  the  Federal  armies  were  re- 
turned to  their  masters  as  fugitives.  It  was  the  Aboli- 
tionists alone  who  were  decidedly  opposed  to  this  policy. 
The  loyal  people  of  the  free  States  had  not  yet  been 
educated  up  to  that  plane,  nor  to  that  of  utilizing  these 
f ugitives  for  the  cause  of  the  Union.  Masters  would  come 
to  the  camps  of  the  Federal  army  and  demand  their  slaves 
under  the  famous  Fugitive  Slave  Bill ; and  these  demands 
were  complied  with  by  the  generals  of  Democratic  sym- 
pathies, with  one  marked  exception — that  of  Benjamin 
F.  Butler,  in  command  at  Fortress  Monroe.  That  shrewd 
lawyer-general  took  in  the  situation ; he  refused  to  sur- 
render them,  taking  the  military  view  that  these  fugitives 
were  “ contraband  of  war.”  This  decision  covered  the 
case  ; for  it  was  well  known  that  the  slaves,  by  their  labor 
on  fortifications  and  otherwise,  were  more  efficient  aiders 
of  the  rebellion  than  if  they  were  actually  in  the  field. 
The  term  “ contraband  ” became  during  the  war  the  pop- 
ular designation  of  such  fugitives.  Butler  put  these  men 
to  work  and  paid  them  wages. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

LINCOLN’S  ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 

Movement  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  — Evacuation  of  Manassas. — 
Yorktown,  Siege  of. — Battle  of  Williamsburg. — Sanitary  Commis- 
sion.—The  Betrear. — Excitement  in  Richmond. — Conscription 
Law. — Jackson  in  Shenandoah  Valley. — The  Chickahominy. — Bat- 
tle of  Fair  Oaks  —Lee  in  Command. — Battle  of  Gaines’  Mill  or 
Cold  Harbor. — Change  of  Base. — Battle  of  Malvern  Hill. — Harri- 
son’s Landing. — Cedar  Mountain. — Second  Battle  of  Bull  Run. — 
Lee  Invades  Maryland.— Harper’s  Ferry  Captured.— Battle  of 
Antietam. — Lee  Retreats. — McClellan’s  Slowness;  His  Removal. — 
Burnside  in  Command. — Battle  of  Fredericksburg. 


Preparations  on  a large  scale  were  made  to  move  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  to  its  destination  on  the  Peninsula. 
There  were  employed  113  steamers,  185  schooners,  and  85 
barges  with  tugboats.  These  were  to  pass  down  the  bay 
and  up  the  Rappahannock  to  Urbana,  and  thence  to  ‘‘reach 
the  vicinity  of  Richmond  before  they  (the  rebels)  could  con- 
centrate all  their  troops  there  from  Manassas.”  The  latter 
had  railroad  communication  and  could  place  their  troops 
in  defense  of  Richmond  long  before  the  Union  army  could 
make  its  way  across  a country  more  or  less  woody,  with 
four  rivers  to  pass,  proverbial  for  their  marshy  banks,  which 
in  the  spring  were  always  overflowed  by  freshets.  This 
plan  of  advance,  as  the  President  suggested,  was  to  leave 
a way  open  on  the  right  flank  of  the  army  by  which  a force 
accustomed  to  move  with  the  rapidity  of  the  enemy,  or,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  Union  armies  in  the  West,  could  come 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


938 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP, 

LX. 


1862. 


Mar. 

19. 


Mar. 

10. 


in  overwhelming  numbers  and  attack  Washington  before  it 
would  be  possible  to  recall  the  Potomac  army  from  its  posi- 
tion. For  this  reason  President  Lincoln  retained  McDow- 
ell’s division  for  some  time  that  the  Capital  might  be  secure. 
As  the  Confederates  had  their  spies,  male  and  female,  in 
Washington,  every  fact  worth  knowing  was  communicated 
to  them,  and  the  city  when  known  to  be  in  a position  of 
defense  was  secure  from  attack.  In  a note  to  McClellan 
the  President  gives  his  reason  for  retaining  McDowell. 
This  reason  will  always  be  satisfactory  to  the  people.  He 
says:  “After  you  left  I ascertained  that  less  than  20,000 
unorganized  men,  without  a single  field  battery,  were  all 
you  designed  to  be  left  for  the  defense  of  Washington  and 
Manassas  Junction,  and  part  of  this  even  was  to  go  to  Gen- 
eral Hooker’s  old  position.” 

The  Confederate  General  T.  J.  Jackson  — afterward 
known  as  44  Stonewall” — made  a dash  at  Winchester,  where 
General  Shields  was  in  command,  but  after  a day’s  skir- 
mishing and  fighting  retired  in  the  night  up  the  valley, 
destroying  all  the  bridges  on  the  route.  The  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Kailway,  through  the  exertions  of  the  chivalrous 
General  Lander,  was  once  more  put  in  order  that  supplies 
could  be  brought  to  Washington.  General  Lander  had 
been  wounded  in  a previous  battle,  but  would  not  retire, 
though  urged  by  his  physician,  and  in  consequence  his 
great  exertions  led  to  his  death. 

The  enemy  had  been  for  some  time  leisurely  evacuating 
Manassas  and  transporting  their  war  material  by  railway  to 
Richmond  without  interference  from  the  Union  army. 
Twenty  hours  after  the  fact  was  known  along  the 
front  44  it  was  made  apparent  at  headquarters  that  the 
enemy  was  evacuating  Centreville  and  Manassas  as  well  as 
on  the  Upper  Potomac.”  Yet  orders  were  not  issued  for 
a pursuit  until  the  enemy  had  been  gone  thirty-six  hours. 
The  Union  army,  after  four  days’  marching,  returned  and 
had  4 4 gained  some  experience  on  the  march  and  bivouac.” 
So  said  the  General-in-Chief. 


MOVEMENT  OF  THE  ARMY — MANASSAS  ABANDONED. 


939 


“ General  Joe  Johnston  had  44,000  men  at  Centre ville 
and  Manassas,  and  Jackson  had  6,000  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley.  Johnston  finally  fell  back  behind  the  Rapid  an, 
deemed  a more  defensive  position  than  the  Rappahannock, 
of  which  it  is  a branch.”1 

Two  divisions — General  Heintzelman  commander — left 
Alexandria  on  transports  for  Fortress  Monroe.  Several 
days  after  McDowell’s  division  was  ready  to  move,  and  as  it 
has  been  said  the  President  retained  it  to  make  Washington 
safe  ; but  on  June  6th,  when  McClellan  might  need  them, 
a large  portion  of  the  corps  (Franklin  and  McCall’s  divi- 
sions) was  dispatched  to  him,  who  says  in  a note  to  the 
President,  “ I shall  be  in  perfect  readiness  to  move  forward 
to  take  Richmond  the  moment  McCall  reaches  here  and 
the  ground  will  admit  the  passage  of  artillery.” 

The  plan  adopted  by  McClellan  to  reach  Richmond  was 
by  the  peninsula  formed  bv  the  York  and  James  Rivers  ; 
the  latter  not  used  lest  the  Merrimac  should  interfere, 
though  she  was  closely  blockaded  by  the  Monitor  and  other 
war  vessels.  For  one  entire  month  the  Union  army  was 
engaged  in  making  the  most  elaborate  redoubts  and  paral- 
lels, and  placing  in  order  siege  guns,  while  the  enemy  could 
leave  at  any  moment,  as  their  rear  was  open  and  unob- 
structed. The  Confederate  government  never  intended  to 
make  a stand  at  Yorktown,  and  General  Magruder  had  only 
about  11,000  men  to  defend  a line  “ embracing  a front  from 
Yorktown  to  Milberry  Point,  thirteen  and  a half  miles.” 
But  when  the  comparatively  immense  force  of  McClellan 
appeared,  and  after  a delay  of  ten  days  or  more  began  to 
dig  trenches  and  not  attack,  General  Joe  Johnston  availed 
himself  of  the  delay  to  join  Magruder  with  53,000  men,2 
and  he  only  remained  to  make  a show  of  defense  until 
Richmond  could  be  thoroughly  fortified.  Had  the  Union 
army  at  once  advanced  with  its  much  superior  numbers, 
Magruder  would  have  fallen  back  toward  Richmond. 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


Mar. 

18. 


June 

8. 


Apr. 

4. 

to 

May 


1 Life  of  Lee,  p.  74. 


Life  of  Lee,  p.  72. 


940 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


May 


Magruder,  surprised  that  he  was  not  attacked,  says : 
gi  In  a few  days  the  object  of  McClellan’s  delay  was  appa- 
rent. In  every  direction  in  front  of  our  lines,  through 
intervening  woods  and  along  the  open  fields,  earthworks 
began  to  appear.”  McClellan  made  requisitions  upon  the 
War  Department  for  siege  guns,  stating  that  the  enemy 
had  within  his  entrenchments  “ not  less  than  100,000  men, 
probably  more,”  and  that  “ here  is  to  be  fought  the  great 
battle  that  is  to  decide  the  existing  contest,”  yet  the  way 
was  open  for  the  Confederates  to  retire  to  Richmond  when- 
ever they  chose.  He  also  complained  of  his  want  of  men. 
Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  in  reply  : “ Your  dispatches,  complain- 
ing that  you  are  not  properly  sustained,  while  they  do  not 
offend  me,  pain  me  very  much.”  He  reminds  the  General- 
in-Chief  that  he  has  with  him  85,000  effective  men,  and  en 
route  enough  to  make  108,000,  remarking  : “ By  delay  the 
enemy  will  relatively  gain  upon  you  ; that  is,  he  will  gain 
faster  by  fortifications  and  reinforcements  than  you  can  by 
reinforcements  alone.”  After  further  suggestions  and  ex- 
pressions of  kindness,  he  closed  by  saying — “ But  you  must 
act.”  Time  passed  on,  the  enemy  making  a bold  front  to 
deceive  the  Union  commander,  and  when  he  was  ready  to 
open  with  his  siege  guns,  it  was  discovered  one  morning 
that  the  enemy  were  gone;  their  rearguard,  even,  was  far 
on  its  way  toward  Richmond.  The  Federal  gunboats 
passed  up  York  river  convoying  transports,  carrying  Frank- 
lin’s division  to  West  Point,  twenty-five  miles  above 
Yorktown,  where  it  arrived  the  next  day.  This  capture  of 
Yorktovvn  was  hailed  as  an  important  victory  by  the  people, 
and  excited  hopes  of  the  speedy  crushing  of  the  rebellion. 

The  Confederates,  meantime,  retired  as  best  they  could 
on  account  of  the  muddy  roads,  made  so  by  a pouring 
rain,  which  continued  for  thirty-six  hours,  and  halted  to 
retard  the  pursuit  at  Williamsburg,  twelve  miles  above 
Yorktown.  at  which  place  earthwork  defenses  had  been 
thrown  up  some  time  before,  mostly  bv  the  labor  of  slaves. 
About  noon  the  same  day  the  Union  cavalry  overtook  the 


BATTLE  OF  WILLIAMSBURG. 


941 


Confederate  army  and  ascertained  their  position,  but  imper- 
fectly. The  next  morning  early  Heintzelman  arrived  with 
his  division.  Smith’s  and  Hooker’s  divisions  soon  after. 
The  latter  commenced  the  battle  at  7-J  a.  m.  At  10  a.  m. 
the  enemy  endeavored  to  turn  the  Union  left,  but  Hooker 
persistently  held  his  place,  and  for  six  hours  the  battle 
raged  on  this  point ; the  mire  was  so  deep  that  artillery 
could  scarcely  be  handled.  There  was  a lamentable  want 
of  cooperation  among  the  division  commanders,  though 
General  Sumner  was  nominally  in  command  of  the  whole 
force,  McClellan  being  still  at  Yorktown. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  ammunition  began  to  fail 
Hooker’s  men.  Messenger  after  messenger  had  been  sent  to 
urge  on  Kearney’s  division,  which  was  retarded  beyond  pre- 
cedent by  the  almost  impassable  roads.  Heintzelman  and 
Hooker  held  their  position  by  bayonet  charges  alone ; it 
seemed  a carnage  to  stand  any  longer  owing  to  the  de- 
ficiency of  ammunition.  “ Shall  we  retire  ?”  said  Heintzel- 
man to  Hooker.  “ No  sir,”  said  the  latter  ; “ if  we  must 
fall,  let  those  responsible  for  it  be  made  to  answer ; ive 
cannot  leave  this  post.”  “ Just  my  views,”  said  Heintzel- 
man. Presently  a hurrah  was  heard  above  the  din ; 
Kearney’s  men,  begrimed  with  mud,  were  coming  through 
the  forest.  Heintzelman  waved  his  wounded  arm  and 
shouted  them  a welcome,  and  called  to  the  musicians, 
“ Give  us  Yankee  Hoodie,  boys  !”  and  a cheer  of  triumph 
rose  along  the  whole  line  as  these  brave  men  moved  to  the 
conflict.  “On  to  the  front!”  shouted  Heintzelman,  and 
Hooker,  knowing  the  ground,  led  forward  the  brigade 
without  a moment’s  delay.  The  enemy  fell  back  to  their 
earthworks.  “ Now  for  the  charge,  boys  !”  was  shouted,  and 
they  carried  the  rifle-pits  and  one  redoubt  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet.  The  enemy  tried  again  and  again  to  recover 
the  position,  but  were  as  often  repulsed. 

In  another  part  of  the  field  were  found  two  redoubts 
unoccupied  ; of  these  Generals  Hancock’s  and  Smith’s  divis- 
ions took  possession.  Soon  the  Confederates  discovered 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 

May 


942 


HISTORT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


May 

11. 


their  loss,  and  made  an  effort  to  recover  them.  Hancock 
feigned  to  retreat,  and  they  rushed  on  to  make  an  assault. 
The  Federals,  at  the  proper  moment,  wheeled  and  rapidly 
delivered  several  deadly  volleys,  and  then  charged  upon  the 
surprised  enemy,  secured  500  prisoners,  and  scattered  the 
remainder.  Xight  came  on  ; the  Union  soldiers  remained 
on  the  held,  sleeping  for  the  most  part  on  the  muddy 
ground,  without  shelter  or  food.  General  McClellan  ar- 
rived just  as  the  battle  closed. 

During  the  night  Johnston  withdrew  from  the  Williams- 
burg defenses  and  passed  over  to  the  south  side  of  the 
Chickahominy,  leaving  on  the  field  his  dead  and  badly 
wounded — about  1,000.  Colonel  Averil  pursued  with  a 
cavalry  force  and  captured  a large  number  of  prisoners. 
The  Union  army  lost  456  killed  and  1,400  wounded  ; the 
Confederate  loss  was  never  reported. 

The  exposure  and  labor  sent  a great  number  of  the 
Union  soldiers  to  the  hospitals.  Here  is  where  that  blessed 
institution,  “ The  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,” 
came  to  the  rescue  of  the  wounded  and  sick  soldiers.  This 
‘ 4 Commission  ” sprang  from  the  benevolence  of  the  people 
themselves,  who  cheerfully  gave  their  money  to  sustain  it, 
and  ladies  of  the  highest  culture  and  refinement  often  vol- 
unteered as  nurses.  Tens  of  thousands  of  wounded  and 
sick  soldiers  were  thus  aided,  and  received,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, the  tenderest  care.  The  influence  of  that 
“ Com  mission  ” has  been  felt  throughout  Christendom  ; and 
commissions  modeled  after  it  have  blessed  the  poor  soldiers 
of  Europe  in  wars  since  the  close  of  the  great  rebellion. 

Meantime,  General  Huger  was  destroying  all  the  war 
material  and  ships,  to  the  amount  of  more  than  ten  mill- 
ion dollars,  at  the  navv-yard  at  Gosport,  preparatory  to 
evacuating  Xorfolk,  when  Magruder  would  leave  Yorktown. 
The  next  day  Commodore  Tatnal,  who  commanded  her, 
gave  orders  to  blow  up  the  Merrimac.  Xow  was  the  time 
for  McClellan  to  change  his  base  to  the  James,  which  he 
had  wished  to  do  when  the  “monster”  was  supposed  to  be 


EXCITEMENT  IN  RICHMOND — LAW  OF  CONSCRIPTION. 


943 


in  the  way.  The  gunboats  passed  up  the  James,  silencing  chap. 

the  hostile  batteries,  until  they  reached  Drury’s  Bluff,  eight 

miles  below  Richmond ; on  the  Bluff  was  Fort  Darling,  so 
high  that  the  shots  from  the  gunboats  passed  oyer,  while  its  16- 
guns  were  depressed  so  as  to  make  plunging  shots. 

These  advances  caused  a thrill  of  consternation  in  Rich- 
mond, for  the  citizens  and  the  authorities  thought  the 
Union  army  would  promptly  follow  up  its  successes.  The 
Confederate  Congress  refused  to  remain,  but  adjourned, 
failing  to  manifest  the  proper  confidence  in  the  government 
or  army.  Even  in  the  President’s  mansion  was  “ made  a 
painful  exhibition  to  the  South  of  the  weakness  and  the 
fears  of  those  entrusted  with  its  fortunes.”  Preparations 
were  made  to  remove  the  public  archives  to  Columbia,  S.  C. 

But  when  it  was  seen  that  McClellan,  instead  of  working 
his  way  up  the  James,  turned  aside  to  follow  up  the  Chick- 
ahominy,  some  of  the  citizens  recovered  from  their  alarm, 
and  held  a meeting  and  passed  resolutions  “ to  stand  by  the 
city  or  lay  it  in  ashes”  before  it  should  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  Federals.  A strange  infatuation  seemed  to  seize  the 
Southern  leaders  to  destroy  the  property  of  their  own  peo- 
ple ; lest  towns  should  be  occupied  by  Union  soldiers,  they 
would  burn  them.  Thus  Magruder  had  laid  in  ashes  the 
beautiful  village  of  Hampton  on  the  approach  of  the  Union 
army.  They  seemed  to  act  without  reason.  If  they  suc- 
ceeded in  separating  from  the  free  States,  their  towns  would 
be  safe  for  themselves ; and  if  they  did  not  succeed,  they 
would  only  come  back  under  the  old  flag,  when  their  homes 
and  property  would  be  as  secure  to  their  owners  as  they 
always  had  been.  In  truth,  these  leaders  were  very  free 
with  not  only  the  property,  but  with  the  individual  rights 
of  their  own  people.  Their  conscription  act  was  cruel  in 
the  extreme  and  enforced  without  mercy.  It  read  : “Every 
male  citizen  between  the  ages  of  18  and  35  is  declared  by 
virtue  of  his  citizenship  to  be  in  the  military  service  of  the 
Confederate  States.”  Thus,  wherever  found,  male  citizens 
between  these  ages  could  be  put  in  the  ranks  by  the  officer 


944 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  in  command.  The  loyalty  of  the  South  is  proved  “ by  the 

general  and  continued  submission  of  the  people  to  the 

impressment  system  as  practiced — such  a tyranny,  I believe, 
as  no  other  high-spirited  people  ever  endured.”1  In  the 
free  States,  when  a draft  was  necessary  and  ordered,  the 
person  thus  drafted  could  furnish  a substitute ; and  the 
people,  having  ascertained  the  quotas  of  their  respective 
counties  or  districts,  came  forward  of  their  own  accord  and 
provided  the  means  to  pay  the  men  who  entered  the  army ; 
and,  if  they  had  families,  pledged  themselves  to  support 
them  while  the  husband  was  in  the  field. 

General  Banks  was  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  his 
troops  not  exceeding  5,000  ; as  he  had  been  stripped  of  two 
divisions,  one  that  of  General  Shields,  sent  to  General 
McDowell  at  Fredericksburgh  ; the  other,  General  Blen- 
ker’s,  to  Fremont,  in  West  Virginia.  General  Jackson  was 
sent  by  Johnston,  with  15,000  men,  to  pounce  upon  Banks, 
drive  him  out  of  the  Valley,  make  a demonstration  on 
Washington,  and  delay  the  movements  of  McClellan.  Gen- 
eral Banks  had  a small  force  stationed  at  Front  Royal  to 
protect  the  people  from  roving  marauders  ; this  force  Jack- 
son  attacked,  but,  warned  by  a contraband,  it  fell  back, 
skirmishing  all  the  way  toward  Winchester,  where  Banks 
May  was.  The  latter  made  his  arrangements,  and  at  2 a.m.  his 
troops,  artillery,  baggage  and  hospital  stores  were  on  their 
march  to  the  Potomac.  This  retreat  was  one  continued 
skirmish,  and  some  severe  fighting.  Banks  deserves  credit 
that,  with  his  limited  force,  he  brought  nearly  all  his  train 
and  men  safely  across  the  river,  and  then  halted  to  dispute 
the  passage.  Jackson  did  not  linger,  for  he  heard  that 
Generals  Shields  and  Fremont  were  coming  to  fall  upon  his 
rear,  but  escaped  by  great  skill  and  joined  Johnston,  hav- 
ing accomplished  nothing  of  importance,  but  lost  by  death 
Colonel  Ashby,  unquestionably  the  most  competent  com- 
mander of  cavalry  in  the  Confederate  service.  In  a few 
weeks  Banks  was  at  his  old  post. 

1 Johnston’s  Narrative,  p.  425. 


THE  CHICKAHOMIXY — FAIR  OAKS. 


945 


As  an  evidence  of  the  patriotism  of  the  free  States,  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  when  Mr.  Lincoln  called  upon 
those  near  at  hand  for  volunteers  to  repel  Jackson  and 
defend  the  capital,  in  a few  days  nearly  sixty  regiments 
reported  themselves  ready  to  march. 

The  advance  of  the  Union  army  was  slow ; it  did  not 
reach  the  Chickahominy  until  the  21st,  when  the  left  wing, 
unmolested,  passed  the  river  at  Bottom’s  Bridge,  to  the 
South  side,  and  the  right  wing  remained  on  the  North  side; 
the  whole  line  extending  twelve  miles  to  Cold  Harbor 
the  extreme  right.  Says  General  Barnard,  chief-engineer  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac:  “This  river,  at  the  season  we 
struck  it,  was  one  of  the  most  formidable  obstacles  that 
could  be  opposed  to  the  march  of  an  army.”  “The 
stream  flows  through  a belt  of  heavily  timbered  swamp, 
which  averages  three  to  four  hundred  yards  wide  “and 
the  water  when  but  a foot  or  two  above  its  summer  level 
overspreads  the  whole  swamp.”1 

From  the  White  House — the  head  quarters — on  York 
river,  supplies  came  on  steamers.  General  McDowell  had 
his  division  at  Fredericksburg,  and  it  was  designed,  if  nec- 
essary, that  he  should  join  McClellan.  The  Union  army 
lay  in  an  exposed  position  from  May  21st  to  the  31st,  the 
left  wing  south  of  this  dangerous  river  and  the  right  north  ; 
Barnard  says,  the  bridges  and  pontoons  were  ready  ; and  the 
entire  right  wing  of  the  army  could  have  passed  the  river  any 
time  after  the  24th.  Should  a storm  arise,  the  river  swamps 
would  be  impassable  for  either  wing  ; for  this  storm  the 
enemy  waited;  it  came,  and  for  two  days  they  attacked  the 
left  wing  furiously.  This  battle  is  known  as  that  of  Fair 
Oaks  or  Seven  Pines,  one  of  the  most  bloody  contests  of  the 
war,  in  which  both  armies  displayed  heroic  bravery.  The 
enemy  were  compelled  to  retire,  and  Heintzelman  and  Sum- 
ner wished  to  march  upon  Richmond,  only  five  miles 
distant ; — in  truth  Heintzelman’s  division  reached  a point 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 

May 

2$. 


May 

21. 


May- 

31 

and 

June 

1. 


1 Barnard’s  Report,  p.  18 


946 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  within  four  miles,  but  the  General -in-chief  would  not  per- 
— - — mit  the  movement.  Heintzelman,  foreseeing  the  peril  of 
having  the  army  divided  by  that  dangerous  river,  had  given 
warning  days  before,  of  what  the  enemy  evidently  intended  ; 
and  General  Sumner  on  his  own  responsibility  passed  the 
river  from  the  north  side  on  a temporary  bridge,  and  by  the 
presence  of  his  troops  the  fortunes  of  the  day  were  saved. 
These  two  generals  handled  their  forces  independently  of 
each  other ; there  was  no  supreme  authority  on  the  field,  as 
McClellan  was  seven  miles  away.  The  Confederate  loss  was 
about  8,000,  that  of  the  Federals  about  5,000.  In  this  bat- 
tle General  Johnston  wTas  severely  wounded,  and  General 
Robert  E.  Lee  was  appointed  in  his  place  to  the  command 
of  the  Confederate  army  in  front  of  Richmond. 

After  this  battle,  the  Union  army  remained  in  its  origi- 
nal position.  The  danger  of  thus  separating  the  two  wings 
by  the  river  was  still  the  same,  and  Lee,  the  new  commander, 
did  not  fail  to  take  advantage  of  the  blunder.  McClellan 
was  still  hesitating,  it  would  seem,  whether  or  not  to  change 
his  base  to  the  James  ; he  now  telegraphed  to  the  President 
that  the  enemy  had  200,000  men.  Says  one  authority,  “ the 
Confederate  Capital  had  for  its  defence  but  100,000  men  at 
most.”  This  included  those  in  garrison  in  the  forts  around 
Richmond,  while  Childe  says  “on  the  20th  of  June  the 
army  of  Northern  Virginia  numbered  70,000  fighting 
men.”1  From  June  1st  to  the  20th,  the  right  wing  of  the 
Union  army  lay  isolated  on  the  north  side  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy ; a tempting  bait  which  Lee  laid  plans  to  secure. 
“The  Confederate  army  covered  Richmond,  extending  from 
the  James  river,  where  its  extreme  right  commenced,  to  the 
Chickahominy  beyond  Meadow  Bridge,  on  which  its  extreme 
left  abutted.”  General  Huger  commanded  the  right. 
General  Magruder  the  center  and  General  A.  P.  Hill  the 
left,  while  the  divisions  of  Longstreet  and  D.  H.  Hill,  drawn 
up  behind  and  beyond  the  left,  were  to  support,  at  the  fitting 


1 Life  of  Lee,  pp.  75,  77. 


THE  SEVEN  DAYS’  BATTLE  BEGINS — COLD  HARBOR. 


947 


moment,  the  turning  movement  of  Jackson.  General  Lee 
amused  McClellan  by  making  demonstrations  on  his  front, 
while  Jackson,  in  accordance  with  orders,  was  making  a 
long  detour  to  attack  the  rear  of  the  exposed  right  wing. 

Meanwhile,  Lee  sent  General  James  F.  B.  Stuart  with  a 
cavalry  force  to  reconnoiter,  which  he  accomplished  effec- 
tively ; bringing  confirmation  of  the  exposed  condition  of 
the  right  wing  of  the  Union  army.  ‘‘The  Federal  forces 
offered  the  strange  spectacle  of  an  army  invading  a country 
and,  although  superior  in  numbers  and  resources,  awaiting 
the  attack,  instead  of  pressing  forward  and  engaging  itself 
in  conflict.”1 

McClellan,  on  the  eve  of  June  26th,  fully  determined  to 
change  his  base ; but  now  Jackson  was  almost  ready  to 
attack  his  right,  and  it  was  a far  different  matter  to  move 
with  a persistent  enemy  pressing  on  the  rear  than  to  move 
unobstructed.  During  the  forty  days  in  the  marshes  along 
the  Chickahominy,  his  army  was  almost  decimated  by 
diseases  thus  contracted.  Two  days  before,  June  24th,  a 
deserter  brought  word  that  Jackson  was  preparing  to  attack 
the  Union  army  at  Mechanicsville.  on  the  extreme  right. 
McClellan  sent  two  trusty  negroes  to  verify  the  deserter’s 
story.  They  soon  returned,  reporting  that  the  enemy’s 
pickets  were  at  Hanover  Court  House.  An  attack  was  evi- 
dently impending.  At  last  the  resolution  was  taken  to  com- 
mence changing  the  base  to  the  James.  In  the  midst  of 
preparations  to  pass  the  river,  and  about  3 p.m..  General 
D.  H.  Hill’s  division,  14,000  strong,  tired  of  waiting  to 
hear  Jackson’s  attack,  passed  the  river  at  Meadow  Bridge, 
and  assaulted  Fitz  John  Porter’s  division  at  Mechanicsville. 
Here  began  the  famous  “seven  days’  contest.” 

General  Porter,  seeing  the  large  force  of  the  enemy,  fell 
back  to  a strong  position  at  a crossing  of  Beaver  Creek,  to 
which  the  enemy  soon  came  up  and  endeavored  to  cross  by 
the  two  bridges,  but  were  repulsed  from  both,  one  after  the 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


June 

12. 


June 

26. 


June 

26. 


1 Life  of  Lee,  pp.  79  and  86. 


948 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  other ; at  9 p.  m.  the  battle  ceased,  the  enemy  losing  “ be- 

tween  three  and  four  thousand  ; the  Federals  much  less.” 

1862 

' The  way  was  open,  and  during  the  night  Longstreet  joined 
Hill,  and  both  moved  round  Porteris  right  to  unite  with 
Jackson  the  next  day,  and  to  make  an  attack  on  McCall’s 
division  at  Cold  Harbor.  Learning  of  this  movement 
McClellan  ordered  by  telegraph  that  line  to  be  abandoned 
and  a new  one  taken,  extending  from  near  and  beyond 
Gaines’  Mill,  and  to  Powhite  Swamp,  thus  covering  the 
approaches  to  the  bridges  over  the  Chickahominy,  which 
must  be  made  in  order  to  change  the  base.  During  the 
night  heavy  guns  were  put  in  position  on  the  South  side  to 
protect  the  bridges,  and  numerous  wagons  were  passed  over. 
“The  delicate  operation  of  withdrawing  the  troops  from 
Beaver  Dam  Creek  was  commenced  shortly  before  daylight, 
and  successfully  executed.’’ 

General  Lee  joined  his  army  in  the  morning,  but  delayed 
to  attack  till  he  could  hear  from  Jackson’s  guns;  without 
waiting  longer  he,  however,  began  the  battle  at  4 p.  m.,  and 
it  continued  till  eight.  The  greatest  bravery  was  displayed 
on  both  sides;  at  half-past  five  P.  M.  Jackson  came  upon  the 
Union  lines.  The  Federals,  meanwhile,  rushed  and  charged 
D.  H.  Hill’s  division,  and  to  aid  him  Lee  ordered  Long- 
street  to  feign  an  attack  on  the  center  and  left  of  the 
Federal  right  wing.  But  the  latter,  seeing  the  strength  of 
the  position,  found  he  must  make  a real  attack  if  he  would 
aid  Hill’s  troops,  and  “five  brigades  rushed  to  the  assault 
in  double-quick  time,  but  were  received  by  a fire  so  terrible 
that  they  recoiled  cowed.”  It  was  just  after  this  that 
Jackson’s  troops  came  upon  the  ground. 

General  Porter  asked  for  aid,  and  General  Slocum’s 
division  crossed  the  river  to  his  assistance,  and  also  other 
troops  were  sent  over.  At  6 p.  m.  the  enemy  made  an 
attempt  to  break  the  Union  line,  but  failed.  An  hour  later 
they  made  a still  more  fierce  attack,  and  gained  the  woods 
held  by  the  left  of  the  Federal  right  wing,  and  the  Union 
soldiers  fell  back  to  a hill  in  the  rear.  Darkness  came  on, 


MAGRUDER’S  REPORT — BATTLES. 


949 


The  enemy,  having  been  repulsed  several  times,  did  not 
press  their  recent  advantage.  This  battle  of  Cold  Harbor, 
or  Gaines*  Mill,  was  one  of  the  hardest  conflicts  of  the  war. 
“ The  losses  of  the  two  armies  were  great — from  7,000  to 
8,000  on  the  Confederate  side,  and  from  6,000  to  7,000  on 
that  of  the  Federals.”1  The  Confederates  persist  in  calling 
the  movements  of  the  subsequent  days  a retreat ; but  the 
Federa  s call  it  a change  of  base,  though  undertaken  too 
late. 

During  the  time  this  battle  was  in  progress  on  the  North 
side  of  the  Chickahominy,  the  enemy  were  making  demon- 
stration on  the  South  side,  in  front  of  Heintzelman’s, 
Keyes’  and  Sumner’s  corps. 

According  to  Childe  the  number  of  Confederates  thus 
threatening  amounted  to  only  25,000,  while  the  number  of 
Union  soldiers  held  waiting  was  70,000.  Says  Magruder  in 
his  report:  “Had  McClellan  massed  his  whole  force  in 
column,  and  advanced  it  against  any  point  of  our  line  of 
battle,  its  momentum  would  have  insured  him  success  and 
the  occupation  of  our  works  about  Richmond.”  And  Bar- 
nard says:  “ As  it  was,  the  enemy  fought  with  his  whole 
force  (except  enough  left  before  our  lines  to  keep  up 
appearances),  and  we  fought  with  27,000  men.”  The  Com- 
mander-in-Chief’s  movements  were  all  interfered  with  by 
his  absurd  belief  of  the  superior  numbers  of  the  enemy. 

During  the  following  night  the  Union  troops  were  with- 
drawn from  the  north  side  of  the  Chickahominy ; the 
trains,  having  passed  over  the  day  before,  were  far  on  their 
way  toward  the  James.  All  the  bridges  over  the  river  were 
blown  to  pieces  to  prevent  the  enemy’s  crossing.  It  is  sin- 
gular that  not  until  this  Friday  evening  did  the  corps 
commanders  learn  that  they  were  to  “ make  a flank  move- 
ment to  the  James  river.” 

To  abandon  strong  fortifications  on  which  they  had 
spent  twenty  days  of  hard  labor  had  a depressing  effect  on 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


June 

28. 


Life  of  Lee,  p.  97. 


950 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  the  soldiers,  yet  they  bore  up  manfully  under  the  disap' 

pointment,  though  they  had  been  at  one  time  within  four 

miles  of  Richmond.  Notwithstanding  this  depression,  in 
the  three  succeeding  battles  of  Savage  Station,  Glendale, 
White  Oak  Swamp  and  Malvern  Hill,  the  last  and  most 
important,  they  manifested  marvelous  courage  and  endur- 
July  ance.  On  the  morning  after  the  battle  of  Gaines’  Mill 
1’  McClellan  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War  a letter  closing  in 
the  following  singular  terms  : “ If  I save  this  army  now,  I 
tell  you  plainly  that  I owe  no  thanks  to  you,  or  to  any 
other  persons  in  Washington.  You  have  done  your  best  to 
sacrifice  this  army.”  The  incompetency  in  leading  and 
directing  this  unfortunate  army,  time  has  placed  elsewhere 
than  with  the  Secretary  of  War. 

General  Porter’s  corps  rested  for  a few  hours,  then 
pressed  forward  toward  the  James,  through  the  White  Oak 
Swamp.  Nearly  600  wounded  men,  by  order  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief,  were  left  under  a flag  of  truce  at  Savage 
Station,  “ with  a proper  complement  of  surgeons  and  at- 
tendants, and  a bountiful  supply  of  rations  and  medical 
stores.”  The  whole  Union  army  withdrew,  slowly  and 
deliberately,  and  the  enemy  followed  after,  but  were  repulsed 
from  time  to  time,  when  they  made  attacks,  and  in  no  in- 
stance did  they  in  the  main  delay  the  withdrawal  ; for  the 
corps  commanders  (as  the  Commander-in-Chief  was  in  the 
advance)  managed,  under  general  orders,  to  take  turns  in 
repelling  the  enemy  and  holding  them  in  check  until  the 
portion  of  the  army  in  motion  moved  to  a certain  point, 
then  those  that  held  the  opposing  force  in  check  passed  on, 
while  fresh  troops  awaited  in  well-chosen  positions  the 
approaching  enemy.  A part  of  the  rebel  army  made  detours 
by  taking  country  roads,  but  when  they  came  upon  the 
line  of  march  of  the  Union  army  they  found  it  prepared  to 
meet  any  assault.  In  this  withdrawal  the  Confederate  army 
lost  many  more  soldiers  than  the  Federal.  Finally  the 
advance  reached  Malvern  Hill,  on  which  McClellan  arranged 
to  make  a stand.  General  Franklin  held  “Stonewall” 


BATTLE  OF  MALVERN  HILL. 


951 


Jackson  in  check  for  half  a day  at  White  Oak  Swamp 
bridge,  then  at  10  p.m.,  without  orders,  but  with  wisdom, 
withdrew  : General  Sumner  of  his  own  will  followed,  then 
Heintzelman  and  then  Hooker,  and  early  in  the  morning 
they  took  their  position  on  Malvern  Hill.  This  hill,  16 
miles  below  Richmond,  44  is  an  elevated  plateau  about  a mile 
and  half  long  by  three-fourths  wide,  and  well  cleared  of 
timber,  and  with  several  converging  roads  running  over  it.” 
On  this  plateau  was  the  Union  army,  center  and  left,  right 
extending  to  cover  the  passage  to  Harrison’s  Landing ; 
thither  the  trains  had  passed  the  night  before.  On  the  hill 
sixty  pieces  of  field  artillery  were  placed  in  position  ; and 
also  ten  siege  guns.  This  decision  to  make  a stand  on 
Malvern  Hill  Barnard  says  “probably  saved  the  army  of 
the  Potomac  from  destruction.” 

Lee,  who  had  been  laboring  for  days  to  unite  his  whole 
army  that  he  might,  as  usual,  attack  weak  points  in  force, 
now  found  himself  in  position  with  his  entire  army,  60,000 
or  70,000  strong  under  their  respective  commanders.  He 
resolved  to  envelope  the  position  of  the  LTnion  army,  but 
delayed  the  attack  till  4 p.m.,  as  he  seems  not  to  have  had 
his  preparations  made  ; meanwhile,  the  Union  soldiers  of 
their  own  accord  were  throwing  up  numerous  earthworks  to 
defend  certain  positions.  The  attack  was  made  on  the 
Union  left ; the  Confederates  advancing  their  batteries  in 
an  open  field,  in  front  of  woods  where  lay  the  men  to  storm 
the  Union  lines  when  their  batteries  had  silenced  the 
Uederal  guns.  But  their  own  batteries  were  soon  disabled 
by  the  well-directed  fire  of  the  Union  artillery,  and  the 
storming  column  had  no  opportunity  to  carry  out  their 
orders.  44  Instead  of  ordering  up  a hundred  or  two  hundred 
pieces  of  artillery  to  play  on  the  Yankees,  a single  battery 
was  ordered  up  and  knocked  to  pieces  in  a few  minutes ; 
one  or  two  others  shared  the  same  fate,”  says  Hill  in  his 
report. 

“ At  six  o’clock  General  D.  H.  Hill,  deceived  by  what 
he  thought  was  the  signal  for  the  attack,  charged  with  all 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


July 

1. 


952 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


his  division ; but  finding  himself  unsupported,  although 
Jackson  might  have  hastened  to  bis  aid,  he  was  obliged  to 
retire  with  great  loss.  Magruder  also,  on  the  Confederate 
right,  made  an  attempt  which  ended  like  Hill’s.  The  flux 
and  reflux  of  the  rival  armies  lasted  till  night.”1  The  gun- 
boats joined  in  the  fray,  and  made  great  havoc  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Confederates.  The  Union  army,  according  to  the 
original  design,  withdrew  to  Harrison’s  Landing ; and  the 
following  night  Lee  fell  back  with  his  shattered  troops  to 
the  Richmond  fortifications.  This  ended  the  seven  days* 
fighting  and  fearful  loss  of  life,  and  the  campaign  became 
famous  as  the  great  failure  of  the  war.  The  Union  loss  in 
killed,  wounded  and  missing  was  15,349;  the  Confederate, 
19,533. 

The  most  numerous  and  best  drilled  army  of  the  nation 
had  accomplished  virtually  nothing.  With  but  one  exception 
— Williamsburg — it  had  never  been  led  against  the  enemy, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  stood  on  the  defensive.  It  was  kept 
from  May  25th  to  July  1st  in  the  swamps  along  the  Chick- 
ahominy,  where,  amid  the  malarious  influences  and  the 
broiling  sun,  the  men  became  enervated  to  an  unprece- 
dented degree.  Yet  be  it  said  to  the  immortal  honor  of 
the  soldiers  and  officers  composing  this  army,  that  they 
fulfilled  their  duty  to  their  country,  and  under  the  most 
trying  circumstances.  They  in  every  sense  were  the  equals 
of  their  Western  fellows  who  had  been  so  much  more  suc- 
cessful. Prince  De  Joinville  says:  “If  their  primitive 
organization  had  been  better,  the  survivors  of  this  rude 
campaign,  I do  not  fear  to  assert,  might  be  regarded  as  the 
equals  of  the  best  soldiers  in  the  world.”2  “An  armv 
which  was  able  in  the  midst  of  so  many  trials  and  disasters 
to  continue  fighting  all  day,  and  marching  all  night, 
enduring  its  defeats  bravely  and  without  flinching,  deserves 
the  respect  and  admiration  of  both  friends  and  foes.”3 

1 Life  of  Lee,  p.  108. 

2 De  J oinville’s  Army  of  the  Potomac,  p.  96. 

3 Life  of  Lee,  p.  110. 


pope’s  army— cedar  mountain. 


953 


McClellan  at  once  asked  for  more  men,  and  the  gov- 
ernment sent  a sufficient  number  to  make  in  the  aggregate, 
by  July  20th,  101,691  men,  present  for  active  service. 
The  President  issued  a call  for  300,000  more  men  ; and  be 
also,  to  secure  greater  efficiency,  consolidated  the  three 
small  armies  of  McDowell,  Banks  and  Fremont,  to  the 
command  of  which — known  as  the  “Army  of  Virginia” — 
he  appointed  General  John  Pope,  lie  was  directed  to 
cover  Washington,  as  the  way  was  open  for  a Confede- 
rate march  on  the  National  Capital,  and  McClellan  by  his 
position  could  offer  no  obstruction  to  such  a movement. 
In  truth,  the  enemy,  emboldened  by  his  inaction,  resolved 
to  try  for  Washington,  and  at  least  force  his  recall  from  the 
James.  General  Halleck,  at  the  recommendation  of  Gen- 
eral Scott,  was  appointed  “to  the  command  of  the  whole 
land  forces  of  the  United  States  as  commander-in-chief.” 
Halleck  assumed  command,  and  after  a Cabinet  council 
visited  the  army  on  the  James  to  judge  for  himself  whether 
it  should  be  withdrawn  or  not.  “The  majority  of  the 
officers  expressed  themselves  in  favor  of  the  withdrawal.” 
The  men  had  become  so  weakened  because  of  the  hot 
weather  and  the  malaria  of  the  swamps  that  they  were  unfit 
to  enter  upon  an  advance. 

Pope’s  army  when  he  took  the  field  amounted  to  42,000 
men;  5,000  of  whom  were  cavalry — the  latter  somewhat 
inefficient  from  want  of  drill  and  concentration.  Detach- 
ments of  cavalry  reconnoitered  and  reported  the  enemy 
in  force  on  the  Rapidan  and  also  at  Madison  Court 
House.  Pope  interposed  his  forces  between. them  and  the 
National  Capital.  The  movements  of  the  Confederates 
puzzled  the  Union  generals.  Their  presence  was  made 
known  by  an  attack  on  General  Banks.  They  arranged 
their  forces  in  such  a manner  as  to  amount  almost  to  an 
ambuscade,  into  which  the  Federals  fell.  At  about  3 p.m. 
the  battle  began,  and  soon  became  general.  At  6 o’clock 
Pope  came  upon  the  field  and  made  some  changes  of  posi- 
tion, which  the  enemy  mistook  for  a retreat,  and  pressed  on 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


July 

22. 


July 

29. 


Aug. 

9. 


954 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 

Aug. 

11. 


Aug. 

15. 


and  came  into  an  open  field  and  exposed  themselves  to  a 
very  destructive  fire  of  artillery,  which  drove  them  back  to 
their  covert  of  scrub-oak.  Night  came  on,  and  Jackson 
fell  back  and  disappointed  the  Federals,  who  in  the  morn- 
ing expected  to  attack  him.  Jackson  continued  to  retreat 
till  he  reached  the  south  side  of  the  Rapidan,  leaving  his 
badly  wounded  under  a flag  of  truce.  This  is  known  as 
the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain. 

A few  days  afterward  Pope  learned,  from  papers  found 
on  Stuart’s  adjutant,  who  had  been  captured,  that  the 
plans  of  the  enemy  were  to  march  on  Washington.  Hal- 
leck  telegraphed  an  order  to  McClellan  to  bring  his  army 
from  the  James  to  Washington.  The  latter  asked  that  the 
order  might  be  rescinded,  and  an  advance  on  Richmond 
made  by  way  of  Petersburg.  That  movement  was  available 
two  months  before,  but  it  was  now  too  late,  and  Halleck 
insisted  upon  the  order  being  obeyed,  and  it  was  complied 
with  in  a tardy  manner.  Halleck  had  already  ordered  the 
wounded  and  sick  soldiers  to  be  brought  to  northern  hos- 
pitals, to  remove  all  obstructions  to  active  operations. 

At  a convocation  of  *the  Governors  of  the  loyal  States 
it  was  recommended  to  the  President  to  call  for  300,000 
more  men.  The  people  of  these  States,  though  greatly 
disappointed  and  mortified  at  the  sad  failure,  nevertheless 
labored  with  their  usual  energy  to  recruit  the  army  and 
sustain  the  Government.  When  Lee  learned  of  this,  and 
that  the  army  of  the  Potomac  was  ordered  back  to  its  old 
quarters,  he  acted  promptly,  sending  a force  under  Jackson 
to  crush  Pope’s  army  before  it  could  be  reinforced  either  by 
the  new  levies  or  by  McClellan’s  army.  He  sent  forward 
all  the  troops  that  could  be  spared  from  the  fortifications 
at  Richmond,  leaving  there  only  the  inexperienced.  Pope, 
learning  of  the  number  of  the  enemy  in  his  front,  fell  back 
from  the  Rapidan  to  the  Rappahannock,  at  all  the  fords 
of  which  they  were  checked.  Soon  the  great  mass  of 
the  Confederate  army  disappeared ; Jackson  was  making 
an  unusual  detour  to  reach  the  Shenandoah  Valley  and 


THE  FIRST  BATTLE. 


955 


come  in  on  the  rear  of  Pope’s  army.  The  latter  divined  chap. 

the  movement  and  wrote  to  that  effect  to  McDowell.  ' 

1862 

Meanwhile,  Jackson  was  pressing  on  over  fields  and  bad 
roads,  and  appeared  suddenly  at  Thoroughfare  Gap,  where 
the  railway  of  Manassas  Gap  crosses  the  hills  of  Bull  Run. 
Thoroughfare  Gap  was  unoccupied,  and  Jackson,  passing 
through,  sent  a detachment  which  overpowered  the  little 
garrison  at  Manassas  Junction,  and  the  hungry  Confed- 
erates reveled  in  the  provisions  on  hand  at  that  important 
point.  The  next  day,  Longstreet,  with  his  division,  joined 
Jackson;  with  him  came  Lee,  who  assumed  command. 

Pope  now  came  up  with  his  forces.  They  had  been  march- 
ing and  countermarching  for  ten  days  to  find  the  enemy, 
and  were  weary.  His  army  amounted  to  about  54,000  men, 
and  not  more  than  500  effective  cavalry;  Lee’s  army  to 
70,000  effective  men,  according  to  Ohilde’s  account.  Pope 
pressed  on  as  Jackson  withdrew  from  the  Junction,  and 
prepared  to  give  battle  on  the  old  Manassas  ground,  of 
July  21,  1861. 

Gen.  Sigel  at  10  a.m.  commenced  the  fight;  the  posi- 
tion of  the  enemy  was  well  chosen  behind  the  embankment 
of  a railroad,  and  the  Federal  arrangements  were  equally 
as  well  made.  The  struggle  was  very  severe  during  the 
day,  and  in  the  end  was  a drawn  battle,  though  the  Con-  Aug. 
federates  were  driven  back  and  the  Federals  occupied  the  ^ ' 
field.  There  was  want  of  concert  in  the  attack  and  move- 
ments of  the  Union  divisions;  some  of  them  did  not 
carry  out  their  orders  fully,  as,  for  instance,  Fitz  John 
Porter’s  “ forces  took  no  part  whatever  in  the  action,  but 
were  suffered  by  him  to  lie  idle  on  their  arms,  within  sight 
and  sound  of  the  battle  during  the  whole  day.”  Had  he 
come  into  it  with  his  10,000  fresh  men,  no  doubt  the 
victory  would  have  been  complete.  This  was  the  second 
time  within  two  days  that  Porter  had  delayed  or  refused  to 
obey  Gen.  Pope.  He  was  afterward  tried  by  court-martial 
for  this  conduct  and  severely  censured. 

The  next  day,  about  noon,  the  conflict  was  renewed  : 


956 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 

Aug. 

30. 


Sept. 

2. 


Sept. 

4. 


the  line  of  battle  was  nearly  five  miles  long.  Porter’s 
division  now  taking  part  and  fighting  bravely,  and  other 
divisions,  such  as  Heintzelman’s  and  Reno’s,  maintaining 
their  old  reputation  for  persistent  bravery  and  endurance. 
The  contest  extended  along  the  line  and  raged  for  several 
hours  ; the  Confederates  bringing  up  heavy  reserves,  and 
hurling  mass  after  mass  of  troops  upon  the  Federal  left. 
These  persistent  efforts  forced  the  left  back  one-half  or 
three-fourths  of  a mile,  but  at  dark  they  made  a stand 
firm  and  unbroken.  If  the  forces  of  McClellan  had  been 
at  Acquia  Creek  by  the  20th  of  August,  as  ordered,  they 
could  have  easily  aided  in  this  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  ; 
but  tardiness  was  the  bane  of  that  brave  but  unfortunate 
army;  and  again  there  was  want  of  harmony  among  the 
commanders  of  division,  owing,  it  was  said,  to  rivalries. 

Pope  fell  back  to  the  intrenchments  at  Centerville,  and 
within  a day  or  two  retired  to  the  defenses  of  the  Capital, 
on  the  way  to  which  was  the  severe  skirmish  of  Chantilly, 
in  which  two  most  excellent  officers  were  killed — General 
Stevens  and  General  Kearney.  General  Pope  asked  to  be 
relieved  of  further  service  in  that  department.  The  Union 
losses  in  all  these  conflicts  amounted  to  nearly  15,000  men, 
killed,  wounded  and  missing  ; the  Confederates  lost  between 
nine  and  ten  thousand.  These  disasters  caused  the  most 
intense  excitement  in  the  loyal  States  ; they  were  altogether 
so  uncalled  for  and  unexpected  that  the  people  were  taken 
by  surprise.  But  the  effect  was  to  rouse  them  to  greater 
exertions  and  sacrifices  than  ever  before. 

A party  in  the  Confederacy  had  urged  that  their  armies 
should  take  the  offensive  rather  than  the  defensive;  and 
such  had  been  the  policy  along  the  line  of  the  Western 
Border  States  ; but  in  these  their  efforts  had  signally  failed. 
Kow  the  want  of  success  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
and  the  withdrawal  of  Pope’s  army  induced  Lee  of  his  own 
accord  to  push  on  his  army,  his  vanguard  crossing  the 
Potomac  at  the  mouth  of  Monocacv  Creek  ; three  days  after 
the  advance  was  at  Frederick,  Maryland. 


LEE  INVADES  MARYLAND — HARPER  S FERRY. 


957 


While  the  Confederates  were  thus  moving,  great  con- 
fusion reigned  at  Washington  and  vicinity.  General 
McClellan,  in  virtue  of  his  position  in  his  army  and  by 
direction  of  the  President,  took  command  of  all  the  forces 
thus  demoralized  in  and  around  the  capital,  and  displayed 
his  remarkable  talents  as  an  organizer  by  soon  bringing 
order  out  of  confusion.  The  Union  army  in  a few  days  was 
prepared  to  place  itself  between  the  invading  foe  and  the 
capital,  and  also  to  guard  Baltimore.  The  army  moved  in 
the  direction  of  the  enemy  ; Burnside  led  the  left,  Sumner 
the  center,  and  Franklin  the  right. 

General  Lee  and  his  officers  were  greatly  chagrined  be- 
cause the  people  of  Maryland  did  not  hasten  to  join  the 
Confederates,  though  Lee  had  issued  amoving  proclamation, 
and  laid  before  them  in  expressive  terms  the  sorrows  they 
endured  from  the  oppressions  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment ; but  they — poor  people — did  not  view  it  in  that  light. 

At  Harper’s  Ferry  was  General  Miles  with  11,500  men  ; 
he  had  been  assured  that  aid  would  be  sent  him.  But  Lee 
was  unwilling  to  leave  this  force  in  his  rear,  and  says  he, 
“ The  advance  of  the  Federal  army  was  so  slow  as  to  justify 
the  belief  that  the  reduction  of  Harper’s  Ferry  would  be 
accomplished,  and  our  troops  concentrated  before  they 
would  be  called  on  to  meet  it.”  Accordingly  he  sent 
Jackson,  who  moved  rapidly,  seized  the  heights  that  com- 
manded the  Ferry,  and  compelled  a surrender  of  the  garri- 
son— the  aid  coming  just  thirty  hours  too  late.  The  cavalry, 
however,  escaped,  and,  on  its  way  to  join  the  Union  army, 
captured  an  important  train  of  wagons  belonging  to  the 
enemy. 

The  Union  advance  entered  Frederick,  in  which  place 
was  found  an  order  of  Lee’s,  dated  the  9th,  to  his  sub- 
ordinate generals,  fully  explaining  his  future  movements. 
McClellan  availed  himself  of  this  information,  and  ordered 
his  entire  force  to  certain  points.  There  are  two  passes 
or  gaps  through  the  South  Mountain — name  given  to  the 
Blue  Ridge  north  of  the  Potomac — Crampton  and  Turn- 


CHAP 

LX. 


1862. 


Sept. 

15. 


958 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


Sept. 

14. 


Sept. 

16. 


er'*s,  within  five  miles  of  each  other.  The  former  of  these 
General  Franklin  was  ordered  to  seize,  which  he  did  after 
a sharp  conflict,  and  passed  through  into  Pleasant  Valley  to 
find  the  enemy  in  force.  Burnside  also  had  reached  Turner’s 
Gap  and  found  it  held  by  D.  H.  Hill,  with  a strong  force, 
and  the  crest  of  the  mountain  for  a mile.  The  battle  com- 
menced bv  a cannonade  at  daylight,  lasting  all  day.  The 
enemy  withdrew  the  next  night,  having  lost  about  2,500 
men.  They  next  appeared  drawn  up  on  the  west  side  of 
Antietam  Creek,  professing  to  have  gained  their  point  in 
holding  the  Gap  until  Jackson  could  return  from  Harper’s 
Ferry.  In  this  battle  was  killed  General  Reno,  a great  loss 
to  the  Union  army. 

General  Lee’s  position  was  very  strong,  with  the  creek 
in  his  front,  Sharpsburg  village  one  mile  in  his  rear  on 
the  way  to  the  Potomac,  over  which,  in  case  of  disaster,  he 
could  retreat.  Over  the  creek  were  three  stone  bridges  in 
a distance  of  nearly  four  miles.  Lee’s  army  faced  east,  and 
on  his  right  he  placed  Longstreet,  opposite  the  south  bridge, 
then  came  D.  H.  Hill,  then  Hood,  and  then  north  of  him, 
Jackson.  McClellan’s  army  faced  west,  and  its  left  was 
opposite  Longstreet  and  the  south  bridge.  Here  was  placed 
Burnside’s  corps,  then  came  Porter’s  in  the  centre,  then 
Hooker’s,  and  a portion  of  Sumner’s  on  the  right. 

The  bridge  on  the  Union  extreme  right,  and  also  a ford, 
were  unguarded,  and  in  the  afternoon,  Hooker,  in  obedience 
to  orders,  crossed  the  bridge  and  ford  without  opposition  : 
but  Lee  had  placed  two  of  Hood’s  brigades  under  cover  of 
the  woods  to  receive  the  Federals  as  they  moved  southwest 
toward  their  line,  and  here  the  combat  commenced.  By 
this  time  it  was  dark  and  nothing  decisive  was  done,  both 
parties  remaining  in  the  woods.  Hood’s  troops  were  re- 
lieved by  a portion  of  Jackson’s  forces,  and  General  Mans- 
field crossed  the  Antietam  and  joined  Hooker,  while  Sumner 
had  orders  to  cross  at  daylight. 

The  sun  rose  clear  and  bright,  and  early  in  the  morning 
the  conflict  began  in  earnest,  Hooker  taking  the  initiative. 


BATTLE  OF  AXTIETAM. 


959 


The  assault  was  made  by  his  centre  division — Pennsylvania 
Reserves — under  General  Meade.  The  attack  was  so  furious 
that  after  an  hour’s  fighting,  with  the  aid  of  the  batteries 
on  the  east  side  of  the  creek,  the  enemy  were  forced  to  give 
way  and  retreat  across  an  open  field,  beyond  which  were 
woods  where  they  took  shelter.  Hooker  advanced  his 
centre  and  left  over  the  open  field,  but  when  they  ap- 
proached the  woods  the  enemy  re-formed,  and  being  rein- 
forced, met  them  in  the  open  plain  with  the  most  determined 
vigor.  Both  equally  brave,  this  was  one  of  the  most  terrible 
conflicts  of  the  war,  and  continued  until  both  sides,  ex- 
hausted, retired  as  if  by  mutual  consent. 

The  Confederates  had  suffered  greatly;  several  excellent 
officers  had  been  slain  or  mortally  wounded.  Hooker’s 
division  had  been  almost  broken  to  pieces  ; he  called  for 
Mansfield’s  division,  which  came  on  the  ground  about  half- 
past 7 a.  m.  Meanwhile,  the  Confederates  had  been  rein- 
forced by  D.  H.  Hill’s  division,  which  had  been  resting  in 
the  woods.  Now  commenced  another  bitter  conflict. 
Hooker’s  broken  corps  and  Mansfield’s  division  were  forced 
across  the  open  field  to  the  woods,  and  there  they  held  their 
ground.  The  brave  Mansfield  was  killed  as  he  went  to  the 
front  to  examine  the  position,  and  Hooker,  severely  wound- 
ed, was  carried  from  the  field.  At  this  time,  9 a.  m.. 
General  Sumner  brought  up  his  corps,  and  drove  one 
portion  of  the  enemy  back  to  the  woods,  and  another  por- 
tion was  withdrawn.  These,  again  reinforced,  made  an 
attack  upon  Sumner’s  right,  w7hich  was  much  advanced, 
under  Sedgwick,  and  drove  it  back  ; then  the  Confederates 
retired  to  a safe  position  in  the  rear  at  11  A.  m.  Thus,  be- 
tween the  rebel  left  and  Union  right  was  the  conflict  into 
which  were  sent  reinforcements  by  both  Lee  and  McClellan. 
Little  was  done  by  either  the  right  or  the  center  of  the 
Union  army  in  the  afternoon. 

Thus  far  nothing  had  been  done  on  the  Union  left.  At 
8 a.m.  Burnside  had  been  ordered  to  force  the  lower  bridge, 
and  occupy  the  Sharpsburg  heights  ; but  not  till  1 p.m.  was 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


Sept. 

17. 


960 


HISTORY  OE  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LX. 


1862. 


Sepf. 

19. 


Oct. 

1. 


Oct. 

6. 


Oct. 

10. 


O*. 

16. 


the  bridge  carried,  and  not  till  two  hours  afterward  were 
the  heights  captured,  and  without  much  struggle.  The 
guns  of  the  enemy  had  fully  commanded  the  west  end  of  the 
bridge  ; Burnside  held  the  heights  for  a few  hours,  and  then 
fell  back  to  the  bridge. 

The  next  day  each  army  rested ; McClellan  was  re= 
inforced  by  two  divisions,  and  Lee  was  satisfied  to  hold  his 
position.  During  the  following  night  he  withdrew,  and  the 
next  day  crossed  the  Potomac  unmolested.  McClellan 
was  urged  by  the  authorities  at  Washington  to  pursue  and 
harass  the  enemy  while  the  roads  were  good,  but  he  was 
not  ready,  and  the  golden  opportunity  was  lost  to  crush 
Lee’s  army,  or  drive  it  on  its  way  to  Richmond  a disorgan- 
ized force.  Finally  the  President  visited  the  army  himself, 
and  was  convinced  that  it  could  move  as  well  as  Lee’s,  and, 
on  his  return,  consulting  with  the  Secretary  of  War  and 
General  Halleek,  he  sent  a peremptory  order  to  cross  the 
Potomac  and  attack  the  enemy,  lying  in  the  vicinity  of 
Winchester  and  Martinsburg. 

Lee,  emboldened  by  McClellan’s  inactivity,  sent  Stuart 
on  a raid,  with  nearly  2,000  cavalry,  into  Pennsylvania.  He 
made  a complete  sweep  around  the  Union  army,  passing 
through  Mercersburg,  Chambersburg,  and  several  other 
places,  levying  contributions  on  them  all.  and  finally  crossed 
the  Potomac  safely,  scarcely  losing  a man. 

McClellan  did  not  obey  the  order  of  his  superior  officer, 
the  President,  given  October  6tb,  but  still  lingered,  and  the 
President  wrote  him  a letter,  dated  October  16th,  in  which 
he  says:  44  Are  you  not  over-cautious  when  you  assume 
that  you  can  not  do  what  the  enemy  is  constautlv  doing? 
Should  you  not  claim  to  be  at  least  his  equal  in  prowess  and 
act  upon  the  claim  ?”  This  expostulatory  letter  was  written 
in  the  kindest  spirit. 

McClellan  at  that  time  had  an  army  of  130,000  men, 
yet  he  did  not  move,  giving  one  excuse  after  another,  for 
the  most  part  trivial.  As  in  the  fall  of  the  year  before, 
he  permitted  the  fine  weather  to  pass  without  putting  his 


BATTLE  OF  FREDERICKSBURG. 


961 


army  in  motion  ; at  length  the  patient  President  removed  chap. 

him  from  the  command  of  the  army,  and  ordered  him  to  

J 1862 
report  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  his  home,  and  appointed  General  Nov' 

A.  E.  Burnside  to  succeed  him.  5. 

General  Burnside  thought  it  better  for  the  army  to 
move  direct  to  Fredericksburg,  and  crossing  the  river,  force 
their  way  to  Richmond.  General  Halleck,  Commander-in- 
Chief,  in  an  interview  with  Burnside  disapproved  of  the 
movement,  but  finally  consented  and  returned  to  Washing- 
ton with  the  understanding  that  pontoon  bridges  should  be 
sent  across  the  country  to  Fredericksburg  for  the  army  to 
pass  over.  The  army  moved  at  once  toward  that  point, 
while  the  enemy  were  deceived  by  demonstrations  at  several 
places  ; but  when  the  army  arrived  opposite  Fredericksburg  n0v. 
the  pontoons  had  not  come ; by  an  inexcusable  blundering 
the  proper  officers  had  failed  to  send  them.  The  object 
was  to  seize  the  heights  in  the  rear  of  the  town,  and  if 
storms  came  on  go  into  winter  quarters  and  then  in  the 
spring  push  on  to  Richmond. 

While  Burnside  was  waiting  for  the  pontoons  General 
Lee  arrived  with  Longstreet’s  division,  soon  followed  by 
others,  and  began  to  fortify  the  heights.  Meanwhile,  rains 
came  and  the  Rappahannock  was  much  swollen.  Finally, 
the  pontoons  were  laid  in  the  afternoon,  under  the  fire  of 
sharpshooters  and  artillery.  The  crossings  were  to  be  made 
at  three  points  the  next  morning,  above  the  town,  opposite  Dec. 
and  below,  and  the  attack  to  follow.  The  crossings  were  13, 
made  in  a very  heroic  manner,  but  under  great  disad- 
vantages to  the  Federals  from  the  position  of  the  enemy 
and  their  numbers,  for  their  whole  army  was  on  those 
heights. 

The  Federal  right  made  a series  of  assaults  upon  the 
enemy’s  entrenched  line,  nearly  five  miles  long  and  crowned 
with  field  artillery.  The  Union  heavy  batteries  on  Stafford 
Heights  on  the  North  side  of  the  river  could  scarcely  reach 
this  entrenched  line  ; between  this  line  and  the  river  was 
an  open  space  within  range  of  a double  row  of  rifle-pits  and 


962 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP, 

LX. 


1862. 


Dec. 

15. 


a strong  infantry  force  concealed  right  and  left.  Against 
these  the  Union  soldiers  were  led ; it  is  marvelous  that  so 
few  of  them  were  killed,  and  that  they  inflicted  so  much 
injury  upon  the  Confederates.  Assault  after  assault  was 
made,  and  the  brave  Union  soldiers  rushed  heroically  into 
this  arena  of  death.  In  no  other  instance  in  the  war  were 
Union  soldiers  led  so  recklessly.  Night  came  on  and  the 
conflict  closed.  Only  about  25,000  of  Lee’s  troops  were 
engaged,  and  they  behind  entrenchments.  Two  days 
passed  without  any  special  movement  being  made  by  either 
army,  except  the  Federal  batteries  on  Stafford  Heights  kept 
up  a cannonade  on  the  enemy’s  entrenchments.  The  next 
night  came  on  a violent  storm,  during  which  Burnside 
skillfully  withdrew  his  army  to  the  North  side  of  the 
Rappahannock.  The  Confederates  lost  4,101  killed  and 
wounded,  and  the  Union  army  10,233. 


CHAPTER  LX  I. 

LINCOLN’S  ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 

Invasion  of  Kentucky.— Buell’s  March.— Battle  of  Perry ville.— Battle 
of  Iuka. — Preliminary  Proclamation. — Opposition;  the  Effect. — 
The  Slave’s  Hope.— Battle  of  Murfreesboro.— Confederate  Fail- 
ures.— Expedition  up  tbe  Yazoo. — Capture  of  Fort  Hindman. — 
Galveston  Occupied. — President’s  Message. — Finances. — Northern 
Industries. — Confederate  Finances  — Battle  of  Chancellorville. — 
Death  of  Stonewall  Jackson.— Withdrawal  of  the  Army. 

We  return  to  the  West.  The  Union  army  took  possession 
of  Corinth,  on  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railway.  The 
same  day  General  Halleck  sent  the  Army  of  the  Ohio  under 
General  Buell  toward  Chattanooga,  an  important  strategic 
position  on  the  same  road  in  Fast  Tennessee,  two  hundred 
miles  east  of  Corinth  ; he  also  ordered  General  Grant  to 
protect  West  Tennessee,  and  to  operate  from  Memphis 
against  Vicksburg.  Buell  was  to  pass  along  the  road,  put 
it  in  repair,  and  by  that  route  receive  his  supplies.  General 
0.  M.  Mitchel  had  previously  held  a portion  of  the  same 
road,  and  had  advanced  into  North  Alabama,  occupying 
Decatur  and  Florence,  and  General  G.  W.  Morgan  had  also 
seized  Cumberland  Gap,  the  gate  of  East  Tennessee. 

These  commands,  when  united  with  Buell’s  force, 
amounted  to  about  40,000  men — not  half  enough  to  accom- 
plish what  was  required.  In  truth,  these  commands  were 
depleted  to  augment  the  army  around  Washington.  Mean- 
while, the  Confederates  planned  to  cause  Buell’s  withdrawal 


CHAP. 

LXI. 


1862. 


May 

30. 


964 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXI. 


1862. 


Sept. 

26. 


Oct. 

8. 


Oct. 

30. 


from  his  position.  They  determined  to  pass  to  his  rear, 
invade  Kentucky,  threatening  both  Cincinnati  and  Louis- 
ville,  and  force  him  to  return  for  the  latter’s  protection. 
And  General  Bragg,  who  had  superseded  Beauregard,  and 
General  Kirby  Smith,  with  about  50,000  men,  invaded 
Southeastern  Kentucky  and  advanced  toward  the  Ohio,  pil- 
laging as  they  went ; while  John  Morgan  and  Forrest,  each 
having  about  1,500  cavalry,  were  riding  and  driving  in 
every  direction,  plundering  villages  in  the  same  region, 
defeating  small  parties  of  Union  men,  and  destroying 
bridges.  Buell  was  ordered  to  cross  the  State  of  Tennes- 
see and  meet  these  forces,  and  drive  them  out  of  Kentucky. 
He  moved  from  North  Alabama  as  speedily  as  possible,  and 
came  into  the  State  three  days  behind  Bragg,  who  had 
made  a push  from  Glasgow  toward  Louisville  to  find  Gen- 
eral Nelson  prepared  to  repel  him,  and  he  prudently  fell 
back  to  Bardstown  to  unite  with  Kirby  Smith,  lest  Buell 
should  overtake  him.  The  latter  arrived  at  Louisville,  and 
as  soon  as  possible  went  in  pursuit,  thus  interfering  very 
much  with  the  enemy’s  plans  of  carrying  off  plunder,  for 
which  they  had  impressed  all  the  wagons,  mules,  horses, 
and  slaves  of  the  country.  They  found  they  must  fight, 
and  they  made  a stand  at  Perry  ville.  Buell  came  up 
and  a severe  battle  was  fought,  with  various  success  during 
the  day,  but  at  the  close  the  Federals  had  a decided  advan- 
tage and  made  preparations  to  attack  the  enemy  vigorously 
in  the  morning ; but  during  the  night  the  Confederates  left 
their  position  and  fell  back  to  Harrodsburg.  Thence  Bragg 
continued  his  retreat  from  the  State,  disappearing  through 
Cumberland  Gap,  to  reappear  in  Middle  Tennessee,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Murfreesboro,  some  months  afterward.  Buell 
was  relieved  of  his  command  and  General  Rosecrans  ap- 
pointed to  succeed  him.  He  was  of  the  over-cautious 
school;  a most  excellent  disciplinarian,  but  failed  some- 
times to  make  a dash. 

The  failure  of  Bragg  and  Smith  in  Kentucky  caused 
the  greatest  chagrin  throughout  the  Confederacy.  Their 


BATTLE  OF  IUKA — PRELIMINARY  PROCLAMATION. 


965 


programme  had  been  to  recover  Kentucky  and  drive  the  chap. 

Federals  out  of  West  Tennessee  and  reoccupy  Fort  Done!-  - 

son.  This  plan  was  sadly  interfered  with,  first  at  Iuka, 

Miss.,  where  Rosecrans  defeated  Sterling  Price  and  cap- 
tured 1,000  prisoners;  and  the  same  Union  general  treated  Sept. 

2q 

the  Confederates  still  more  severely  at  Corinth.  In  this 
fight  the  enemy,  under  Generals  Van  Dorn,  Price,  Lovel, 
and  Rust,  had  about  38,000  men,  according  to  their  own  Get. 
estimate  ; the  Union  force  was  about  half  that  number. 

They  retreated  in  haste,  leaving  on  the  field  their  dead, 

1,423  ; wounded,  5,692  ; and  prisoners,  2,248  ; the  Union 
loss  was  only  315  killed  and  1,812  wounded.  So  dissatis- 
fied were  the  authorities  at  Richmond  that  General  Van 
Dorn  was  relieved  and  John  C.  Pemberton  appointed  to 
succeed  him. 

After  the  battle  of  Antietam  the  President  issued,  on 
September  22d,  a preliminary  Proclamation  of  Emancipation  sept. 
of  the  slaves  belonging  to  those  engaged  in  the  rebellion,  to 
take  place  January  1,  1863,  unless  the  States  thus  engaged 
should  be  “in  good  faith  represented  in  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elections 
wherein  a majority  of  the  qualified  voters  of  such  State 
shall  have  participated.”  This  “ shall  be  deemed  conclu- 
sive evidence  that  such  State  and  the  people  thereof  have 
not  been  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States.”  Here  was 
an  offer  to  the  insurgent  States  to  lay  down  their  arms 
within  one  hundred  days,  and  save  their  slaves.  But  the 
same  infatuation  still  prevailed  ; they  would  make  no  con- 
cessions ; encouraged  by  the  hope  that  the  people  of  the 
free  States  would  become  divided  on  the  question  of  eman- 
cipation, and  in  the  end  they  would  secure  a separation 
from  the  Union. 

This  was  pre-eminently  a war  measure  ; for  the  slaves 
laboring  by  thousands  on  rebel  fortifications,  or  in  cultiva- 
ting the  fields  at  home  while  their  masters  were  in  the 
Confederate  armies,  were  as  useful  to  the  rebellion  as  if  they 
were  soldiers  in  their  army  itself ; and  the  slave  became  as 


966 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN"  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXI. 


1862, 


“contraband”  of  war,  as  a horse  used  to  draw  artillery  on 
the  field  of  battle,  or  carry  a trooper  on  his  raids. 

The  opposition  made  in  the  North  to  this  measure 
strengthened  the  hands  of  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion  im- 
mensely, and  served  to  prolong  the  contest.  It  was  confi- 
dently asserted  that  this  offer  of  freedom  would  lead  to 
insurrections  and  massacres,  rapine  and  outrage,  on  the  part 
of  the  slaves  ; all  of  which  was  utterly  disproved  by  the 
events  that  followed.  Those  who  had  prophesied  these 
direful  things  had  taken  the  San  Domingo  insurrection 
with  its  untold  horrors  as  a type ; these  negroes  were 
virtually  savages,  great  numbers  of  whom  were  natives  of 
Africa  itself,  stolen  thence  and  consigned  to  slavery  ; having 
been  deprived  of  the  sweets  of  liberty,  they  felt  more 
keenly  the  contrast  than  if  they  had  always  been  in  servi- 
tude. With  the  slaves  of  the  South  it  was  far  different.  They, 
indeed,  longed  for  liberty,  but  they  looked  for  it  through  the 
intervention  of  others ; they  drew  their  hopes  from  the  case 
of  the  Israelites  led  from  Egypt  by  the  hand  of  Moses ; 
they  trusted  God  would  come  to  their  aid  in  a similiar  way — 
raise  up  for  them  a Moses  ; and  in  this  trust  in  Providence 
their  faith  was  marvelous.  The  gospel  of  forgiveness  had 
been  preached  to  them  by  preachers  both  of  the  white  race 
and  their  own,  and  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  thus  orally  pre- 
sented, had  a wonderful  influence  in  preparing  them  for  the 
events  about  to  follow.  Nor  must  we  think  they  were 
entirely  unaware  of  the  discussions  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
and  their  own  freedom  which  for  so  many  years  had 
agitated  the  country.  The  discussions  on  political  subjects 
at  their  masters’  tables  were  carefully  treasured  up  by  the 
reticent  slave  in  waiting,  and  as  carefully  related  to  his 
fellows  outside,  and  they  communicated  the  same  from  one 
to  another  in  a remarkable  manner.  The  people  of  the 
South  owe  the  deepest  gratitude  to  the  slaves  for  their 
wonderful  moderation  under  the  circumstances ; it  is  the 
highest  credit  to  their  humanity  and  kindly  disposition  that 
they  committed  no  outrages  on  the  families  left  under 


BATTLE  OF  MURFREESBORO. 


967 


their  protection,  but  with  few  exceptions  labored  in  good 
faith  for  their  support. 

When  Bragg  retreated  from  Kentucky,  he  took  a long 
detour  by  way  of  Chattanooga  to  invade  Middle  Tennessee. 
General  Rosecrans  gradually  moved  in  the  same  direction, 
sending  forward  several  divisions  of  his  army  to  Nashville. 
It  was  ascertained  the  invaders  were  concentrating  south  of 
that  city  in  the  vicinity  of  Murfreesboro,  and  that  they  had 
taken  position  on  the  west  side  of  Stone  River,  a crooked 
stream  whose  general  course  is  from  the  south  toward  the 
north.  General  Rosecrans,  after  many  maneuvers  to  learn 
the  enemy’s  position,  made  his  arrangements  to  fall  upon 
the  right  of  the  Confederates  with  a force  sufficient  to  crush 
and  drive  them  back  upon  their  center.  A citizen  of  the 
neighborhood  was  captured  and  brought  to  General  Mc- 
Cook, who  commanded  the  Federal  right.  The  citizen 
said  the  enemy  were  massing  their  men  on  their  left ; it  was 
not  possible  for  want  of  time  to  verify  the  statement. 
General  McCook,  in  reply  to  a question  of  Rosecrans, 
thought  he  could  hold  his  position  for  three  hours.  In  the 
morning  these  masses  of  the  enemy  rushed  upon  Rosecrans’ 
right — McCook’s  position.  Bragg  had  learned  the  plan  of 
battle  designed  by  the  Union  commander,  or  it  may  have 
been  a coincidence.  Rosecrans  had  advanced  to  fall  upon 
the  enemy’s  right,  when  he  was  arrested  by  the  noise  of  a 
severe  fight  upon  his  own  right ; and  soon  came  a mes- 
senger from  McCook,  stating  that  he  had  been  attacked  by 
overpowering  forces,  was  pressed  and  needed  assistance. 
Rosecrans  answered  : “ Tell  him  to  contest  every  inch  of 
ground.  If  he  holds  them,  we  will  swing  into  Murfrees- 
boro with  our  left  and  cut  them  off.”  Soon,  however,  it 
was  evident  to  Rosecrans  that  he  must  change  his  original 
plan  and  hasten  to  sustain  his  own  right,  which  had  already 
been  driven,  though  sullenly,  some  distance.  The  Confed- 
erates came  upon  the  troops  under  Sheridan.  Here  he 
displayed  that  remarkable  promptness  and  skill  which  he 


CHAP. 

LXI. 


1862. 


Dec. 

15. 


Dec. 

31. 


968 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  afterward  so  often  showed.  The  enemy  advanced  across 
an  open  field  and  in  compact  mass.  Upon  them  he  trained 

1862.  fliree  batteries  with  terrific  effect,  yet  they  closed  their 
ranks  and  pressed  on  to  within  fifty  yards  or  so  of  the 
woods  in  which  the  Union  infantry  lay  under  cover,  when 
suddenly  the  latter  rose  to  their  feet  and  poured  in  such 
destructive  volleys  that  they  broke  and  fled.  General 
Sill  charged  and  drove  them  across  the  field  and  until  they 
found  shelter  in  their  entrenchments.  In  this  charge  the 
gallant  Sill  lost  his  life. 

Other  divisions  moved  against  Sheridan’s  position,  but 
he  undauntedly  changed  his  front  and  repelled  them.  In 
an  hour’s  time  came  another  assault,  for  which  he  prepared 
by  planting  his  batteries  to  sweep  the  advancing  columns. 
Twice  more  he  was  assaulted,  but  repelled  the  enemy  with 
great  loss.  It  was  now  three  hours  since  the  battle  began, 
and  Rosecrans  came  on  the  field,  ftew  dispositions  were 
made  by  both  armies,  and  severe  fighting  occurred  at  differ- 
ent points.  Finally  the  Confederates  made  their  last 
assault,  to  find  themselves  subjected  to  so  destructive  an 
artillery  fire  that  when  within  three  hundred  yards  they 
broke  and  hastily  retired  to  their  entrenchments.  This 
ended  the  conflict  of  that  day.  The  armies  lay  watching 

1863.  each  other  for  two  days.  A sharp  skirmish  occurred  on 
2 ’ the  second,  in  which  the  rebels  were  worsted.  The  follow- 
ing night  Bragg  led  off  his  disappointed  army  toward  the 
South.  Every  attempt  the  Confederates  had  made  of  an 
aggressive  character  had  totally  failed  from  Antietam  to 
Murfreesboro.  The  influence  of  this  battle  was  very  dis- 
couraging to  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  and  even  more 
to  their  people.  The  Union  army  engaged  amounted  to 
43.400  and  Bragg’s  about  60,000.  The  Union  loss,  killed 
and  wounded,  8,778  ; the  Confederate  loss  more  than  10,000 
killed  and  wounded,  and  1,700  prisoners. 

General  Grant,  whose  headquarters  were  at  Memphis, 
was  directing  his  efforts  to  open  the  Mississippi ; his  special 


EXPEDITION  UP  THE  YAZOO. 


969 


object  for  that  purpose  was  the  reduction  of  Vicksburg,  chap. 

the  “ Gibraltar  of  the  Confederacy. ” In  the  latter  part  of  

November  he  set  out  with  an  army  to  take  Vicksburg  in  18G3‘ 
the  rear  by  capturing  Jackson — forty-six  miles  east — the 
capital  of  the  State,  while  Sherman  was  to  pass  down  the 
river  from  Memphis  in  transports  and  steamers  convoyed  by 
Porter’s  gunboats,  then  up  the  Yazoo  to  a certain  point, 
and  there  land  and  make  a junction  with  Grant’s  forces. 

The  latter  moved  by  way  of  Holly  Springs,  which  place  the 
enemy  evacuated  on  his  approach  ; he  passed  on  to  find 

them  drawn  up  for  battle  on  the  other  side  of  the  Talla-  1862. 

Dec. 

hatchie  river.  He  flanked  them  and  they  fell  back  to  2.  * 
Abbeville,  out  of  which  they  were  driven  ; the  column 
moved  on  to  Oxford.  There  he  halted  for  an  accumulation 
of  supplies  at  Holly  Springs,  but  Van  Dorn,  with  his  cav- 
alry, surprised  the  regiment  guardin'*  these  supplies  and  Dec. 
most  effectually  destroyed  them.  The  destruction  of  these 
stores  necessitated  Grant  to  fall  back  and  give  up  that  plan 
of  attack. 

But  Sherman,  not  aware  of  this  mishap,  passed  twelve 
miles  up  the  Yazoo  and  found  the  Confederates  in  force  at 
Hayue’s  Bluff,  a strongly  fortified  place,  and  commanding 
the  river  and  any  approach  by  land.  Instead  of  the  cooper- 
ation of  Grant,  Sherman  found  the  enemy’s  entire  force  free 
to  oppose  him  on  the  Yazoo.  He  made  a vigorous  attack,  29. 
but  so  amply  were  they  prepared  to  repel  any  force 
that  he  was  compelled  to  withdraw,  sustaining  a loss  of 
nearly  2,000  men  ; retiring  down  to  the  Mississippi,  and 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  at  Young’s  Point  and 
Milliken’s  Bend,  the  army  was  concentrated  twelve  miles 
above  Vicksburg.  Grant  took  his  forces  from  Memphis 
down  the  river  to  the  same  place. 

While  waiting  for  Grant  and  his  forces,  General  Mc- 
Clernand,  who  was  in  temporary  command,  captured  Fort 
Hindman,  at  Arkansas  Post,  fifty  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
that  river.  The  expedition  was  well  planned  ; the  troops 
being  on  board  steamers.  Porter  convoyed  them  with  his  11. 


970 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AHERICAIY  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXI. 


1863. 


Feb. 

2. 


1832. 

Dec. 

16. 


1863. 

Jan. 

1. 


1862. 

Dec. 

1. 


1863. 

Jan. 

1. 


gunboats  and  rams.  The  troops  landed  three  miles  below 
the  Fort  and  invested  it  as  soon  as  possible,  while  Porter 
passed  up  to  close  range ; the  conflict  was  sharp  and 
decisive ; soon  a white  flag  appeared,  the  fort  was  surren- 
dered and  with  it  all  the  war  material  and  5,000  prisoners. 

General  Grant  arrived  at  Young’s  Point  with  his  forces 
and  assumed  command,  and  in  due  time  prosecuted  his 
designs  against  Vicksburg. 

General  Banks  sent  a force  from  New  Orleans  to  recover 
and  occupy  Baton  Rouge.  The  garrison  withdrew  up  the 
river  to  Port  Hudson,  soon  to  become  fortified  to  such  a 
degree  as  to  be  second  only  to  Vicksburg.  He  also  sent  an 
expedition  to  occupy  Galveston,  Texas,  under  the  protection 
of  the  gunboats.  The  force  landed  and  took  possession. 
The  Confederates  made  an  attack  by  land  and  by  water 
with  three  powerful  rams.  The  Harriet  Lane  was  cap- 
tured, her  commander,  Wainwright,  being  killed.  The 
Westfield , the  flag-ship,  was  aground  and  prepared  to  be 
blown  up,  but  as  Commander  Renshaw,  the  last  to  leave, 
was  stepping  off  she  prematurely  blew  up,  killing  that  most 
efficient  officer. 

Congress  assembled,  and  in  his  annual  message  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  proposed  compensation  for  slaves  freed  under 
certain  restrictions  ; that  those  who  were  not  disloyal  to  the 
Government  should  be  thus  compensated ; that  slaves  once 
freed  by  the  contingency  of  war  should  never  be  reduced  to 
servitude.  This  message  the  Southern  leaders  either  passed 
over  in  silence  or  published  garbled  extracts,  accompanied 
with  sneers  of  contempt.  The  mass  of  the  people  were  not 
permitted  to  see  the  whole  message. 

On  January  1,  1863,  President  Lincoln,  in  accordance 
with  his  pledge,  unless  the  insurgents  should  lay  down 
their  arms,  issued  his  final  decree  of  Emancipation.  From 
its  results  this  has  become  famous  as  a landmark  of  human 
progress.  He  closed  by  saying  : “Upon  this  act,  sincerely 
believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice,  warranted  by  the  Consti- 
tution upon  grounds  of  military  necessity,  I invite  the  con- 


AID  OF  SLAVES — THE  FINANCES. 


971 


siderate  judgment  of  mankind,  and  the  gracious  favor  of  cgAP. 

Almighty  God.”  This  decree  was  hailed  with  enthusiasm  

° J # 1863 

in  the  free  States  by  those  who  desired  the  rebellion  to  be 

suppressed  unconditionally,  but  was  proclaimed  by  those 

who  wished  in  some  way  to  stop  the  rebellion,  even  by  a 

compromise  with  armed  rebels,  as  unconstitutional,  and  all 

that.  The  converse  of  this  was,  that  it  was  constitutional  for 

the  Confederates  to  use  their  slaves  to  aid  them  in  resisting 

the  Government  in  its  legitimate  authority.  Now  there  is 

scarcely  an  individual,  even  in  the  former  Slave  States,  but 

looks  upon  the  abolition  of  the  system  as  a great  blessing  to 

the  South,  as  well  as  to  the  whole  nation. 

No  one  in  passing  through  the  free  States  at  this  time, 
and  seeing  the  industrial  activity,  would  have  suspected 
that  the  nation  was  engaged  in  civil  war,  at  the  cost  of 
more  than  a million  of  dollars  a day,  and  more  than  five 
hundred  thousand  men  withdrawn  from  the  active  duties  of 
life.  A tariff  higher  than  usual  had  been  imposed  on  im- 
ports to  meet,  to  some  extent,  these  extraordinary  expenses, 
and  the  people  entered  upon  manufacturing  industries  with 
unprecedented  zeal,  and  the  busy  hum  of  wrork  was  heard 
over  the  land.  These  resources  were,  however,  insufficient 
to  defray  the  enormous  expenses,  and  Congress  authorized 
the  emission  of  United  States  notes,  known  as  greenbacks, 
to  the  amount  of  $150,000,000,  and  also  bonds  to  the 
amount  of  $500,000,000  ; the  latter  bearing  interest  at  the 
rate  of  six  per  cent.  These  were  offered  in  small  sums  to 
the  people  at  large,  and  they  came  forward  with  wonderful 
unanimity  t<3  aid  in  the  cause  by  furnishing  the  sinews  of 
war.  Nothing  was  more  astonishing  than  what  might  be 
called  the  reserved  resources  of  the  free  States. 

Taxes — for  the  emergency — were  imposed  upon  incomes 
and  manufactures.  Thus,  what  was  lost  by  the  falling  off 
of  import  duties  was  more  than  gained  by  domestic  taxes. 

And,  what  was  still  more  beneficial,  the  people  had  employ- 
ment in  the  introduction  of  new  industries,  or  the  more 
extensive  prosecution  of  the  old.  Taxes  were  imposed — 


972 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXI. 

1863. 


Jan. 

26. 


paid  by  stamps — on  bonds,  mortgages,  deeds,  and  numer- 
ous commercial  transactions.  These  onerous  taxes  were 
repealed  or  lightened  as  soon  as  the  Government  could 
afford  it.  In  some  instances,  foreign  manufacturers  found 
it  for  their  pecuniary  interest  to  transfer  their  machinery 
and  works  to  this  country,  thus  increasing  opportunities  of 
employment  to  our  own  working  people.  After  the  sus- 
pension of  specie  payments  the  premium  on  gold  rose  and 
fell,  and  thus  interfered  very  much  with  the  regular  prices 
of  merchandise  and  of  wages. 

It  is  well  to  glance  at  the  condition  of  the  Confederacy 
at  this  time.  Their  debt  was  already  six  hundred  million 
dollars,  this  was  the  amount  of  their  scrip  afloat,  which  the 
people  were  compelled  to  take  in  exchange  for  what  the 
government  wanted.  This  scrip  was  only  payable  on  the 
contingency  of  a separation  from  and  peace  with  the  United 
States.  A very  heavy  direct  tax  was  levied  upon  the 
country,  to  defray  current  expenses,  and  to  furnish  a 
redemption  fund  for  the  scrip  to  be  redeemed  at  the  rate  of 
one  dollar  for  three,  thus  repudiating  two-thirds  of  their 
debt.  Of  their  efforts  to  obtain  a foreign  loan  every  one 
utterly  failed ; their  cotton  and  tobacco  could  not  be  ex- 
ported because  of  the  blockade,  and  for  the  same  reason 
English  blockade  runners  could  not  come  in,  while  so  many 
of  them  had  been  captured  with  their  valuable  cargoes  that 
they  almost  gave  up  the  attempt. 

General  Burnside  at  his  own  request  was  relieved  of  his 
command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  General  Joseph 
Hooker  entered  upon  his  duties  as  his  successor.  This  was 
an  experiment  to  find  the  right  man,  and  as  the  soldiers 
characterized  Hooker  as  “ Fighting  Joe,”  it  was  hoped  he 
would  be  successful.  There  was  great  want  of  harmony 
among  the  officers  of  this  unfortunate  army — for  which  the 
soldiers  were  not  to  blame — unjust  criticism  by  subordinates 
in  respect  to  superiors,  and  lack  of  cheerful  and  prompt 
obedience  to  orders.  A great  many  changes  of  officers,  and 
also  dismissals,  were  made  in  order  to  secure  obedience  and 


HOOKER — CHANCELLORSYILLE. 


973 


competency.  The  army  was  reorganized  ; an  important 
change  was  made  in  the  increase  and  drilling  of  the  cavalry 
force,  which  numbered  12,000  ; and  the  entire  army,  when 
ready  to  take  the  field,  120,000.  It  was  still  opposite 
Fredericksburg ; and  Lee  kept  guard  at  the  fords  of  the 
Rappahannock  for  twenty-five  miles,  holding  a very  defens- 
ive position.  He  had  sent  Longstreet  with  24,000  men  to 
guard  the  approach  to  Richmond  by  the  James  river,  he 
himself  having  47,000  effective  men  ; but  their  defensive 
position  made  them  equal  to  three  times  that  number. 

Hooker,  finding  the  fords  in  front  well  guarded,  resolved 
to  pass  up  the  river  twenty-seven  miles,  and  there  cross  and 
move  rapidly  to  Chancellorsville — eleven  miles  southwest 
from  Fredericksburg — a country  inn  where  four  important 
roads  meet.  The  army  moved  rapidly,  and  on  the  second 
day  passed  over  on  pontoon  bridges  laid  for  the  purpose. 
The  march  to  Chancellor’s  commenced  at  once  ; they  came 
to  the  Rapidan  at  a place  where  the  water  was  about  four 
feet  deep;  they  did  not  delay  for  pontoons,  but  stripping 
by  divisions  plunged  in,  and,  carrying  their  clothes  and 
arms  and  rations  above  the  water,  passed  over,  and  clothing 
themselves  in  the  same  order  were  soon  on  the  move.  The 
crossing  continued  all  night  long,  and  in  the  morning  all 
were  safely  over.  The  afternoon  of  the  same  day  they 
arrived  at  Chancellor’s.  The  forces  there  were  surprised 
and  driven  back  toward  Lee’s  main  army,  and  an  advanced 
position  of  great  importance  was  secured  by  General  Sykes’ 
regulars,  from  which  he  was  ordered  back — a grievous  error, 
as  it  afterward  proved.  Thus  far  all  had  been  successful  in 
their  movements,  and  Hooker,  over-sanguine,  exclaimed  : 
“The  rebel  army  belongs  to  the  army  of  the  Potomac' ” 
Other  divisions  were  signaled  and  passed  the  Rappahannock 
on  pontoons  with  but  little  opposition  and  marched  toward 
Chancellor’s.  General  Sedgwick  had,  according  to  orders, 
crossed  below  Fredericksburg  and  made  demonstrations  on 
the  Confederates’  extreme  right. 

Lee,  perceiving  this  latter  to  be  a feint,  left  6,000  men 


CHAP. 

LXI. 


1862. 


Apr. 

27-29. 


974 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 
LX  I. 


1863. 


May 

2. 


May 

3. 


to  guard  the  fortifications,  and  hastened  with  all  the  force 
he  could  muster  to  Chancell orsville.  On  the  march  he  met 
Stonewall”  Jackson,  who  proposed  to  make  a long  detour 
and  come  in  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  Union  army. 
Early  in  the  morning  he  set  out  with  22,000  veterans  in  a 
direction  that  induced  the  Union  scouts  to  think  he  was 
falling  back  toward  Richmond.  Lee,  meantime,  with  only 
13,000  men,  kept  Hooker’s  attention  by  making  feints  at 
different  points  during  the  day,  while  Jackson  was  moving 
rapidly  round  to  the  rear  of  the  Union  army.  There  is 
certainly  no  excuse  for  Hooker  and  his  officers  to  be  thus 
deceived  by  this  usual  maneuver  of  Jackson.  At  eight 
p.m.  the  latter  fell  with  unexampled  fury  upon  the  Eleventh 
Corps,  General  Sigel,  which  was  completely  surprised  and 
driven  back  upon  the  Twelfth  Corps.  Darkness  came  on, 
and  the  enemy  was  checked  by  some  earthworks  hastily 
thrown  up,  and  by  the  persistent  cannonade  into  the  woods 
kept  up  by  the  Federals.  Jackson  wished  to  make  a night 
attack,  and  gave  orders  to  that  effect.  Mot  wishing  to  trust 
any  one,  he  himself,  with  a few  attendants,  went  forward 
to  reconnoiter,  leaving  directions  to  his  soldiers  not  to  fire 
unless  they  saw  cavalry  approaching  from  the  side  of  the 
Eederals.  He  was  returning,  when  a brigade  of  his  own 
men  fired  by  mistake,  and  he  fell  mortally  wounded.  A 
few  days  later  he  died.  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  command  of  his  division. 

Both  armies  prepared  for  the  struggle  of  the  next  day. 
Sedgewick  obtained  possession  of  Fredericksburg  aud 
moved  toward  Chancellor’s.  Hooker’s  lines  were  now  in  a 
position  that  rendered  his  superiority  of  numbers  unavail- 
able for  a general  battle  because  of  dense  thickets  of  scrub- 
oak.  Fighting  in  certain  points  continued  through  the 
day,  and  Lee  himself,  taking  four  brigades  from  in  front  of 
Hooker,  forced  Sedgewick  back,  though  his  troops  suffered 
much  from  the  Federal  artillery.  Sedgewick  was  com- 
pelled to  recross  the  river.  For  three  hours  there  was  no 
responsible  head  to  the  army,  as  Hooker  when  on  the 


BLUNDERS — THE  WITHDRAWAL. 


975 


piazza  of  the  inn — his  headquarters — was  stunned  by  a 
piece  of  falling  timber  knocked  down  by  a cannon-ball 
from  a hostile  battery.  It  is  now  well  known  there  were  a 
number  of  inexcusable  blunders  which  made  this  battle 
more  a disaster  than  a defeat.  A council  of  war  was  held 
at  Hooker’s  headquarters.  Generals  Meade,  Reynolds,  and 
Howard  wished  to  advance  and  fight  it  out ; Slocum  was 
not  present,  and  Couch  and  Sickles  thought  it  prudent  to 
withdraw.  It  was  decided  by  Hooker  to  withdraw,  and 
during  the  night,  in  the  midst  of  rain  and  darkness,  the 
army  passed  safely  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Rappahannock. 
The  Union  army  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  about  11,000 
and  the  Confederates  about  10,000.  The  disappointment 
of  the  loyal  people  of  the  country  at  this  disaster  was 
exceedingly  great. 

Hooker,  when  about  to  move,  sent  a large  co-operating 
cavalry  force  under  Stoneman  around  the  enemy’s  army  to 
destroy  railroads  and  bridges,  and  to  cut  lines  of  communi- 
cation between  Lee’s  position  and  Richmond.  This  raid, 
though  not  fully  completing  the  orders  given,  did  an  im- 
mense amount  of  harm  to  railways;  and  a portion  under 
Killpatrick  passed  entirely  around  Richmond  to  Gloucester 
on  the  James,  and  joined  the  army  at  Fredericksburg. 


CHAP. 

LXI. 


1863. 


May 


May 

8. 


CHAPTER  LXII. 


CHAP. 

LXII. 


1863. 


LINCOLN’S  ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 

Lee’s  Advance  North. — Hooker’s  Movements. — Confederates  Across 
the  Potomac. — Gen.  Meade  in  Command. — Battle  of  Willoughby- 
Run. — Death  of  Reynolds. — Battle  of  Gettysburg.— Lee’s  Defeat. — 
Vicksburg. — Running  the  Gaunilet.— Victories. — Vicksburg  Cap- 
tured.— Port  Hudson  Captured. — Grierson’s  Raid. — Naval  Expedi- 
tion.—Capture  of  the  Atlanta.— The  Draft  and  Riot.— French 
Protestant  Address. — Colored  Soldiers. 

The  cry  44  On  to  the  North  ” was  heard  on  all  sides  in 
Richmond.  General  Lee  coincided  in  this  view  ; his  army 
was  out  of  provisions,  and  it  is  said  that  on  one  of  the 
requisitions  to  the  Commissary-general  the  latter  wrote : 
44  If  General  Lee  wants  rations,  let  him  go  and  get  them  in 
Pennsylvania.”  Another  reason  was  to  compel  Hooker  to 
withdraw  his  army' to  defend  Washington.  Childe,  in  his 
life  of  Lee,  enumerates  among  the  encouragements,  that 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation  44  had  exasperated  the 
Democratic  party,  who  complained  bitterly  that  all  Consti- 
tutional liberties  were  disappearing and  also  great  hopes 
w7ere  entertained  from  the  influence  of  the  44  Friends  of 
peace.”  44  The  victories  of  Fredericksburg  and  Chancel- 
lorsville  had  tilled  the  South  with  joy  and  confidence.” 
44  If  Lee’s  cannon  had  thundered  at  the  gates  of  Washing- 
ton or  Philadelphia,  the  4 Peace  party’  in  the  North  would 
have  felt  sufficiently  strong  to  intervene  in  an  efficacious 
manner,  and  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  the  strife 
to  continue.”1 

Hooker  was  vigilant  and  felt  assured  that  the  enem^ 
Life  of  Lee,  pp.  220,  227. 


lee’s  advance  north — hooker’s  movements. 


977 


were  moving  toward  the  Potomac  ; this  information  he  chap. 

sent  to  Washington,  and  asked  permission  to  attack  their 

rear,  but  the  request  was  refused.  At  length  Hooker  took 
up  his  line  of  march  toward  Washington,  and  the  50,000 
men  under  Longstreet  in  his  front  hastened  to  join  Lee  and 
the  advance;  their  army  numbered  70,000  effective  men, 

10.000  of  whom  were  cavalry:  by  far  the  best  of  their 
armies  in  discipline. 

Hooker  by  skillful  reconnoitering  discovered  the  move- 
ments of  Lee’s  army,  and  in  a cavalry  skirmish  Pleasanton 
obtained  papers  at  Stuart’s  quarters  which  revealed  the  in- 
tentions of  Lee:  this  information  Hooker  at  once  sent  to 
Halleck’s  quarters  at  Washington.  Meanwhile,  the  Con-  J^ue 
federate  advance  under  Ewell  was  rapidly  and  secretly 
moving  down  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  marching  seventy 
miles  in  three  days.  They  surprised  Gen.  Milroy  at  Win- 
chester and  compelled  him  to  retreat ; he  finally  reached 
the  Potomac  and  passed  over,  losing  on  the  way  about 

4.000  prisoners.  Milroy  would  not  have  been  surprised  if 
Halleck  had  telegraphed  to  him  the  news  of  the  enemy’s 
advance,  which  was  known  at  his  headquarters  several  days 
before. 

The  movements  of  the  two  armies  were  nearly  the  same 
as  the  autumn  before ; Lee,  moving  down  the  valley  and 
crossing  the  Potomac,  and  Hooker,  conducting  his  march 
wfith  great  prudence,  keeping  between  him  and  the  Na- 
tional Capital ; they  moved  in  parallel  lines,  watching 
each  other  carefully.  Bands  of  Confederate  cavalry  in 
force  had  cut  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railway  at  important 
points,  and  had  passed  across  Maryland  by  way  of  Hagers- 
town to  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  seizing  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  June 
and  sending  trains  of  wagons  laden  with  plunder  across  the 
Potomac.  This  continued  almost  unmolested  for  two  weeks. 

The  Governors  of  the  States  of  Maryland,  Pennsylvania 
and  West  Virginia  issued  proclamations  calling  for  the 
people  to  turn  out  and  repel  the  invaders,  and  so  did  Presi- 
dent Lincoln. 


978 


HISTORY  OE  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIL 


1863. 


Jane 

25. 


June 

28. 


June 

29. 


The  advance  of  Lee’s  army  under  General  Ewell  crossed 
the  Potomac  at  Williamsport  and  Shepherdstown,  passing 
on  to  Chambersburg,  and  thence  to  York.  Two  days  after- 
ward the  divisions  of  Longstreet  and  Hill  crossed  at  the 
same  places,  and  finally  the  whole  army  was  reunited  at 
Chambersburg.  Hooker  crossed  the  river  at  Edwards  ford 
and  moved  to  Frederick.  Hooker  now  desired  to  send  a 
strong  force  to  unite  with  the  troops  at  Maryland  Heights, 
and  take  possession  of  the  Potomac  ferries  in  the  rear  of 
Lee,  and  thus  cut  off  his  communications  and  seize  the 
laden  trains  continually  passing  south,  but  Halleck,  the 
General-in-Chief,  disapproved  of  the  measure,  as  he  usually 
did  of  the  suggestions  of  the  commanders  in  the  field,  who 
were  presumed  to  know  the  situation  better  than  any  Gen- 
eral in  his  office  at  Washington.  Hooker,  irritated  at  the  re- 
fusal, sent  in  his  resignation,  which  was  accepted,  and  Major- 
General  George  G.  Meade  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 

General  Meade  did  not  change  the  arrangements  of  his 
predecessor,  nor  were  operations  delayed  longer  than  one 
day.  The  troops  on  Maryland  Heights  were  directed  to 
join  the  army.  In  consequence  of  the  interception  of  a 
letter  from  Jefferson  Davis  to  Lee  it  became  known  that  no 
movement  could  be  made  direct  on  Washington  from  Rich- 
mond, and  from  the  defenses  of  the  former  troops  were 
forwarded  to  Meade.  The  Federal  army  marched  up  the 
Monocacy  Valley  toward  Gettysburg,  Killpatrick’s  cavalry 
in  the  advance. 

Meanwhile  Lee  had  heard  of  Hooker’s  judicious  plan  to 
seize  his  line  of  retreat,  and  he  suddenly  fell  back,  as  he 
was  marching  on  Harrisburg,  to  secure  a position  east  of  the 
South  Mountain.  Up  to  this  time  he  was  not  aware  that 
the  Union  army  had  crossed  the  Potomac,  and  was  in  igno- 
rance of  its  movements.  He  at  once  recalled  Ewell  from 
York  and  Carlisle,  and  ordered  Longstreet  and  Hill  to  con- 
centrate their  divisions  at  Gettysburg,  toward  which  village 
both  armies  were  approaching,  each  ignorant  of  the  inten- 
tions of  the  other. 


WILLOUGHBY  RUN — DEATH  OF  REYNOLDS. 


979 


General  Buford,  with  a division  of  Federal  cavalry,  was 
the  first  to  enter  the  village.  He  learned  of  the  approach 
of  the  Confederates.  This  information  he  at  once  sent  to 
Meade.  General  Reynolds,  with  the  First  and  Eleventh 
Corps,  was  only  four  miles  distant  from  the  town,  and  had 
orders  to  occupy  it  the  next  morning.  General  Meade’s 
headquarters  were  at  Taneytown,  thirteen  miles  distant  ; 
and  at  intervals  for  about  twenty  miles  several  corps  of 
Union  troops  were  on  their  way.  General  Buford,  with  his 
division  of  cavalry,  moving  out  of  town,  had  taken  a de- 
fensive position  on  Willoughby  Run,  a little  stream  two 
miles  northward  of  the  village  and  beyond  Seminary  Hill. 
General  Hill  learned  from  scouts  that  Federal  cavalry  occu- 
pied the  town,  and  in  the  morning  moved  to  drive  them 
out,  when  his  advance  found  an  unexpected  resistance. 
Buford  determined  at  all  hazards  to  hold  the  position  till 
General  Reynolds,  with  his  forces,  could  come  to  his  assist- 
ance, which  he  did  at  10  A.  m.  Reynolds  had  no  orders  to 
bring  on  a battle,  but  there  was  no  alternative,  and  putting 
himself  at  the  head  of  his  division  he  hastened  on,  and  sent 
back  orders  for  the  Third  and  Eleventh  Corps  to  come  for- 
ward with  all  haste.  He  took  position  on  Seminary  Hill 
in  front  of  the  town,  lest  it  should  be  destroyed  by  shells. 
The  artillery  was  under  General  Doubleday.  General  Rey- 
nolds, when  directing  the  position  of  the  last  brigade  on  the 
right,  was  killed  by  a stray  bullet — a sad  loss  to  the  army 
and  the  country.  General  Doubleday  then  directed  the 
battle,  which  now  began  in  great  earnest.  An  entire  Con- 
federate brigade  crossed  Willoughby  run  and  drove  Buford 
back,  but  in  turn  were  themselves  repulsed  and  captured, 
with  their  commander,  General  Archer.  A Mississippi 
brigade  was  coming  in  on  the  right  flank  and  nearly  cap- 
tured a battery,  when  the  Federals  changed  front  and  at 
once  charged  bayonets.  The  Mississippians,  thus  suddenly 
attacked,  were  thrown  into  confusion  and  sought  refuge  in 
the  cut  of  an  unfinished  railway,  and  were  soon  forced  to 
surrender. 


CHAP. 

LXII. 


1863. 


June 

30. 


July 

1. 


980 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXII. 


1863. 


Lee’s  orders  had  been  so  admirably  obeyed  that  Ewell 
coming  from  Carlisle  on  the  north,  Early  from  York  on  the 
east,  and  Hill  from  Chambersburg  on  the  west,  all  reached 
Gettysburg  at  intervals  on  the  same  day,  July  1st. 

General  Hill,  early  in  the  morning,  had  put  in  line  of 
battle  14,000  men,  besides  his  advance,  Heth’s  division. 
At  noon  the  Union  army  had  decidedly  the  advantage. 
Ewell,  who  heard  the  roar  of  battle  ten  miles  distant,  hur- 
ried forward,  and  came  upon  the  field  at  1 p.m.  He  at 
once  prepared  to  assault  the  Federal  left  flank,  and  Hill  to 
renew  the  fight  in  front.  After  the  fight  had  commenced, 
suddenly  Early  appeared  on  the  other  side,  and  made  an 
impetuous  charge  on  the  Eleventh  Corps,  which  had  come 
up  an  hour  or  two  before.  These  accessions  to  the  Confed- 
erate army  gave  it  the  superiority  of  numbers,  and  thus 
pushed  on  three  sides,  and  thrown  into  confusion,  the 
Union  forces — from  necessity  too  much  extended — were 
driven  hack  through  the  village. 

General  Howard,  when  he  reached  the  battle  field  at 
1 p.h.  with  his  corps,  the  Eleventh,  assumed  command. 
In  coming  up  he  prudently  stationed  one  of  his  divisions  in 
reserve  on  Cemetery  Eidge,  a commanding  position  south  of 
Gettysburg.  This  division  checked  the  advance  of  the 
enemy,  and  enabled  the  Federal  troops  to  rally  in  order  to 
receive  the  attack  of  the  now  exultant  Confederates.  The 
wounded  Union  soldiers  were  sent  during  the  day  to  the 
village,  and,  of  course,  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy  when  they  obtained  possession.  Thus  ended  the 
battle  of  July  1st. 

General  Lee  had  not  yet  arrived,  hut  sent  orders  to  Hill 
to  pursue  to  the  utmost.  Early  wished  to  assault  the 
heights  immediately ; hut  Ewell  and  Hill,  seeing  the  posi- 
tion strong  and  the  Union  soldiers  prepared,  thought  it 
more  prudent  to  await  the  morning,  when  their  other  forces 
could  come  up.  When  Lee  arrived  he  found  that  Hill  had 
recalled  the  troops. 

Hews  of  the  death  of  Eeynolds  had  been  sent  to  Meade, 


GETTYSBURG. 


981 


who  directed  Hancock  to  take  command ; he  arrived  near 
the  close  of  the  battle,  and  did  much  to  restore  order  and 
place  the  troops  in  a position  almost  impregnable.  As  the 
Union  troops  came  up  during  the  night  they  were  arranged 
along  Cemetery  Ridge,  directly  south  of  the  village,  the 
south  end  of  which  was  terminated  by  two  knobs  known  as 
little  Round  Top  and  Round  Top.  Both  of  these  were 
occupied  in  force.  In  front  of  the  former  was  extended 
the  Third  Corps,  under  General  Daniel  Sickles,  1,100  yards 
in  advance  on  a slight  elevation — a mistake  which  Meade 
discovered  too  late  to  remedy  before  the  enemy,  seeing  their 
advantage,  made  the  assault. 

On  the  other  hand,  Lee,  who  thought  to  choose  his  own 
ground,  had  to  arrange  his  men  to  meet  the  dispositions  of 
his  adversary.  More  than  half  the  day  passed  without 
demonstrations  except  an  artillery  duel  ; Meade  was  waiting 
for  the  enemy  to  begin  the  conflict.  About  4 p.m.,  without 
sending  forward  skirmishers,  lest  they  should  give  notice  of 
his  coming,  Longstreet  with  his  entire  force  made  a tre- 
mendous assault  on  the  advanced  position  of  Sickles, 
extending  his  lines  to  overlap  the  latter,  and  by  a rush 
forward  seize  Little  Round  Top,  the  key  to  the  whole  posi- 
tion. Just  at  that  moment  Sykes’s  Corps,  which  had  been 
held  in  reserve,  were  moving  by  order  of  Meade  to  occupy 
the  same  key.  They  had  scarcely  reached  their  line  on  the 
top  when  the  Confederates,  having  passed  round  Sickles’s 
left,  came  rushing  up  the  slope  to  find  themselves  con- 
fronted with  the  most  determined  courage.  Here  occurred 
a most  desperate  hand  to  hand  struggle.  It  resulted  in  the 
repulse  of  the  assailants. 

Longstreet’s  attack  on  Sickles’s  corps  was  more  success- 
ful ; the  soldiers  fought  well,  but  their  faulty  position  gave 
the  advantage  to  their  adversaries.  Sickles  was  severely 
wounded  and  carried  from  the  field,  General  Birney  taking 
the  command. 

A gap  of  nearly  half  a mile  north  of  Round  Top  was 
made  in  the  Union  lines  by  the  sending  of  reinforcements. 


CHAP. 

LXIT. 


1863. 


July 

2. 


982 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXII. 


1863. 


July 

3. 


The  Confederates  made  an  effort  to  secure  this  opening, 
but  were  beaten  off  by  the  Federals  sent  to  occupy  the  same 
place,  and  who  reached  it  first.  Then  the  Confederates 
made  a long  detour  and  came  out  in  the  rear  of  Round 
Top,  with  the  hope  of  suddenly  securing  that  important 
point,  but  to  their  dismay  they  saw  its  crest  crowned 
with  soldiers  and  cannons.  The  Fifth  and  Sixth  Corps, 
fresh  troops,  had  a few  minutes  before  occupied  the  top. 
The  latter  just  arrived,  having  marched  thirty-six  miles  at 
a quick  step.  To  attack  such  a position  was  madness,  and 
the  enemy  fell  back  disappointed,  and  bivouaced  in  a 
neighboring  wheat  field. 

Opposite  the  Union  right  was  stationed  Ewell,  who  only 
made  demonstrations,  which  Meade  soon  detected ; but 
about  six  p.m.  he  made  a real  assault  against  a portion  of 
Cemetery  Ridge,  and  captured  and  held  a breastwork  par- 
tially manned,  most  of  the  troops  having  been  withdrawn. 
Three  of  Early’s  brigades  attacked  another  portion  of 
the  same,  and  succeeded  in  driving  back  the  unfortunate 
Eleventh  Corps,  though  the  artillery  made  sad  havoc  in 
their  approaching  lines.  Their  triumph  was  short,  for  the 
Second  Corps  fell  upon  them  with  determined  vigor,  and 
drove  them  off  faster  than  they  had  the  Eleventh. 

The  Confederates  attributed  the  failure  of  the  day  to 
the  want  of  united  action  on  the  part  of  their  officers  in 
command.  Darkness  ended  the  afternoon’s  work ; the 
Confederates  confessing  they  had  “ obtained  no  serious 
advantage.”  This  ended  the  battle  of  July  2d. 

Lee  made  no  change  in  his  general  plan,  but  hoped  on 
the  morrow  to  have  perfect  concert  of  action  among  his 
own  troops.  During  the  night  General  Picket  brought  him 
his  division — 4,000  fresh  soldiers,  yet  he  was  doomed  to  see 
his  plans  frustrated.  General  Slocum  before  dawn  attacked 
the  Confederates  in  the  breastwork,  though  they  had  been 
reinforced  by  three  brigades,  and,  after  a severe  contest  of 
some  hours,  drove  them  out  with  great  loss.  Finding  it 
impossible  to  regain  the  position  lost,  Lee  changed  his  plan, 


THE  LAST  ASSAULT. 


983 


and  determined  to  assail  the  Federal  center  on  Cemetery 
Ridge,  and  by  two  p.m.  his  arrangements  were  completed. 
In  front  of  Longstreet’s  and  Hill’s  troops  he  placed  115 
guns  on  Seminary  Hill,  hoping  to  disable  the  opposite 
Federal  guns  and  then  carry  Cemetery  Ridge  by  assault. 
General  Meade  penetrated  the  design,  and  made  counter 
preparations  by  placing  only  80  guns  in  position  for  want 
of  room,  as  he  had  120  more  on  hand  to  replace  those  dis- 
abled. Then  followed  a most  terrible  combat  of  field 
artillery.  The  Confederate  guns  accomplished  but  little, 
though  they  kept  up  an  unceasing  fire  of  two  hours,  as  the 
Union  troops  were  under  excellent  cover.  General  Hunt, 
Chief  of  Artillery,  purposely  slackened  his  fire  in  order  to 
save  ammunition,  but  Lee  thought  it  was  because  of  the 
great  number  of  disabled  guns  in  the  Federal  lines,  and  he 
made  preparation  to  carry  the  Ridge  by  assault.  About 
four  p.m.  from  the  west  of  Seminary  Hill  appeared  the 
lines  of  the  Confederates  moving  to  the  attack,  with  a 
steadiness  most  remarkable.  In  the  center  was  Picket’s 
division,  the  finest  troops  of  the  Confederate  army,  sup- 
ported right  and  left  by  the  fine  divisions  of  Pettigrew  and 
Wilcox.  The  assailing  column  altogether  numbered  13,000 
bayonets.  They  had  1,300  yards  of  plain  and  rolling  land 
to  pass  oyer  to  reach  the  Federal  lines,  all  the  way  under 
the  fire  of  batteries  on  Cemetery  Ridge.  As  they  advanced 
the  supports  right  and  left  began  to  waver,  the  left  falling- 
back.  and  the  right,  not  keeping  up,  finally  melted  away. 
Still  the  Picket  column  moved  on.  closing  up  their  ranks  as 
the  men  fell,  “its  flanks  exposed  to  an  oblique  fire  from 
right  and  left,  and  the  head  of  the  column  torn  by  bomb- 
shells and  grape  shot ; but  nothing  could  arrest  it.”1  The 
incessant  fire  caused  it  to  swerve  to  the  left  instead  of  direct 
upon  the  point  intended  ; presently  they  came  within  mus- 
ket range,  the  Federals  reserving  their  fire  for  more  deadly 
effect.  The  column  pressed  on  wdthout  taking  time  to  re- 
turn the  fire,  which  had  been  delivered  upon  their  left ; 

1 Life  of  Lee,  p.  248. 


CHAP. 

LXII. 


1863. 


984 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXH. 


1863. 


July 

4 


July 

14 


when  they  came  within  two  hundred  yards,  they  were  re- 
ceived by  a severe  fire  from  two  divisions,  this  they  return- 
ed, and  then  rushed  on,  but  soon  a portion  of  the  column 
broke  in  disorder ; fifteen  of  its  colors  were  captured  and 
nearly  2,000  prisoners ; another  portion  swerved  to  their 
right  and  took  possession  of  a stone  wall  a little  way  in  ad- 
vance of  the  main  breastworks  ; this  wall  had  been  hastily 
constructed  and  used  temporarily ; on  this  they  placed  the 
blue  flag  of  Virginia — for  Picket’s  4,000  were  Virginians, 
and  brave  fellows  too — a small  success  very  dearly  bought. 
They  became  a center  of  fire — front,  right  and  left — in  a few 
minutes:  they  threw  down  their  arms,  and  fell  upon  the 
earth  to  escape  tbe  leaden  hail ; twelve  stand  of  colors  and 
about  2,500  prisoners  were  taken. 

This  virtually  ended  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  when  the 
Rebellion  received  a blow  from  which  it  never  recovered. 
“ The  Confederate  soldiers  returned  in  a mob,  pursued  by 
the  growling  of  hostile  cannon,  which  swept  all  the  valley 
and  the  slopes  of  Seminaiy  Hill  with  balls  and  shells.” 
Lee  exclaimed  to  an  English  officer  who  was  present : 
“ This  has  been  a sad  day  for  us.  Colonel, — a sad  day — but 
we  can’t  always  expect  to  gain  victories.”1 

Both  armies  remained  in  their  respective  positions  ; 
Meade  was  prudent  and  Lee  seemed  satisfied  with  his  last 
rash  attempt,  so  disastrous  and  so  wanton  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  lives  of  his  soldiers.  He  at  once  began  to  send 
off  his  trains  to  the  crossings  of  the  Potomac,  and  on  the 
same  night,  in  the  midst  of  rain  and  storm,  the  Confeder- 
ates began  to  retreat,  leaving  their  dead  on  the  field  and 
their  wounded  uncared  for  ; Ewell’s  division  remaining  to 
keep  up  appearances  until  nearly  noon  on  the  5th. 

A laborious  march  brought  Lee’s  whole  army  to  Hagers- 
town on  the  7th  ; finally  he  crossed  the  river,  which  had 
been  swollen  by  rains,  thus  delaving  the  passage  for  several 
days.  Meade  was  cautious  to  excess,  and  unwilling  to  run 
risks  the  end  would  not  justify  ; he  was  much  censured  for 
1 Life  of  Lee,  p.  249. 


VICKSBURG — RUNNING  THE  GAUNTLET. 


985 


allowing  the  Confederate  army  to  escape  so  easily,  yet  in 

the  pursuit  he  captured  great  numbers  of  prisoners  ; many  

of  whom  were  wounded  and  cruelly  left  by  the  roadside  to 
lighten  the  trains.  Lee  fell  back  and  finally  took  position 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Rapidan,  and  Meade  in  his  old  Aug. 
quarters  on  the  north  side  of  the  Rappahannock.  In  this 
battle  the  Union  army  lost  in  killed  2,864,  in  wounded 
13,790  ; the  Federals  buried  4,500  of  the  enemy’s  dead, 
and  26,500  wounded  fell  into  their  hands,  and  13,621  other 
prisoners. 

Gen.  Grant,  finding  it  impossible  to  take  Vicksburg 
from  his  present  position,  determined  to  pass  a portion  of 
his  army  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  from  Milliken’s  Bend 
to  a point  below,  and  then  by  running  the  gauntlet  of  the 
Vicksburg  batteries  obtain  gunboats  and  transports  to  ferry 
over  his  troops  to  the  east  side  of  the  river. 

A portion  of  the  army  commenced  the  laborious  march,  Mar 
most  of  the  way  over  an  inundated  and  spongy  soil ; the  29. 
soldiers  oftentimes  halting  to  construct  corduroy  roads. 

Meantime  Admiral  Porter  ran  past  the  Vicksburg  bat- 
teries with  gunboats  and  a number  of  transports,  which 
were  all  protected  from  shot  by  cotton  and  hay  in  bales. 

These  transports  were  manned  by  volunteers.  Said  Gen. 

Grant  in  one  of  his  reports  : “ It  is  a striking  feature  of  the 
volunteer  army  of  the  United  States  that  there  is  nothing 
which  men  are  called  upon  to  do,  mechanical  or  profession- 
al, that  accomplished  adepts  cannot  be  found  for  the  duty 
required,  in  almost  every  regiment.” 

The  gunboats  and  transports  passed  down,  the  former 
bombarding  Grand  Gulf,  but  without  much  success,  and  at 
Bruensburg  they  met  the  army,  which  was  at  once  ferried 
over,  and  General  McClernand’s  corps  marched  out  toward 
Port  Gibson  to  occupy  certain  hills.  He  was  successful  in  Apr 
driving  the  enemy  toward  Grand  Gulf,  which  place  General 
Pemberton  ordered  to  be  evacuated  and  the  troops  to  join 
him  at  Vicksburg ; and  he  urgently  cried  to  General  Joe  L 
Johnston,  who  had  chief  command  of  the  Confederate 


986 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LX  1 1. 


1863. 


May 

8. 


May 

12. 


May 

14. 


May 

16. 


forces  in  that  section,  for  reinforcements.  The  latter  re- 
plied : “ If  Grant  crosses,  unite  all  your  troops  and  beat 
him  back;  success  will  give  back  what  was  abandoned  to 
win  it.” 

Grant  waited  five  days  for  supplies  and  for  Sherman, 
who  had  made  a demonstration  up  the  Yazoo,  to  join  him  ; 
then  began  a series  of  rapid  movements  and  victories  by  the 
Union  troops.  He  first  moved  toward  Jackson,  the  State 
capital,  throwing  out  parallel  divisions,  bewildering  Pem- 
berton as  to  his  real  object.  The  soldiers  had  rations  for 
five  days,  sufficient  for  this  short  and  decisive  campaign. 
As  the  army  advanced  they  came  in  contact  with  the  enemy 
from  time  to  time.  They  found  them  strongly  posted  in 
the  woods  near  the  village  of  Raymond.  After  a contest 
of  three  hours  the  Confederates  were  driven  from  their  po- 
sition, they  taking  the  direction  of  Jackson.  Great  numbers 
threw  down  their  arms  and  deserted.  The  next  day  Gen- 
eral McPherson’s  corps  occupied  Clinton,  and  obtained 
some  important  dispatches  at  the  telegraph  office ; mean- 
while Johnston  had  arrived  at  Jackson  and  taken  com- 
mand. Sherman  and  McPherson,  despite  the  miry  roads, 
were  moving  on,  and  three  miles  from  Jackson  met  John- 
ston’s army,  about  11,000  strong.  McPherson  engaged  the 
main  body,  and  Sherman  passed  round,  flanking  the  enemy 
and  driving  the  riflemen  from  their  pits.  The  Confederates 
soon  left  the  field,  having  lost  250  prisoners  and  eighteen 
guns.  Grant  left  Sherman  at  Jackson  to  destroy  the  war 
material  and  railways,  but  to  protect  private  property,  while 
he  himself  hastened  to  attack  Pemberton,  who  was  said  to 
be  in  a strong  position  at  Champion  Hill  with  25,000  men. 
General  Grant  was  on  the  ground,  but  wished  to  delay  the 
battle  till  the  Thirteenth  Corps  (McClernand’s)  could  come 
up,  but  ere  he  arrived  the  Confederates  began  the  battle,  at 
11  a.m.  ; and  after  a short  and  decisive  struggle  they  were 
driven  from  the  field,  with  great  loss  in  killed  and  wounded. 
They  fell  back  to  Black  River  railroad  bridge,  where  they 
made  a stand ; but  their  soldiers  were  sadly  demoralized. 


ASSAULT — VICKSBURG — PORT  HUDSON. 


987 


and  when  a Union  brigade  charged  their  right  in  order  to 
obtain  a better  position,  they  fled  in  disorder.  “All  is 
lost!”  re-echoed  from  the  ranks,  and  the  panic-stricken 
soldiers  crowded  into  Vicksburg,  at  ten  o’clock  at  night,  as 
into  a trap. 

Vicksburg  was  invested  the  next  day.  Grant  at  first 
ordered  an  assault,  hoping  that  in  the  demoralized  condi- 
tion of  the  enemy  he  might  carry  the  place  ; but  it  was  too 
carefully  fortified  to  be  thus  taken,  and  he  was  forced  to 
begin  a regular  siege.  Then  followed  a series  of  expedi- 
ents, such  as  mines,  one  of  which  when  exploded  blew  a 
fort  one  hundred  feet  into  the  air.  The  garrison  was  nearly 
exhausted,  and  famine  was  pressing  on  when,  on  July  3d, 
at  8 a.m.,  a flag  of  truce  came  out  from  the  besieged  lines 
bearing  a communication  for  General  Grant,  which  con- 
tained proposals  for  surrender.  The  terms  were  arranged 
and  the  Confederates  laid  down  their  arms  and  were  paroled 
— about  32,000  in  number. 

Port  Hudson,  twenty-two  miles  above  Baton  Rouge,  had 
been  invested  by  General  Bunks.  The  attention  of  the 
garrison  was  attracted  by  echoes  of  great  shoutings  in  the 
Federal  lines.  It  was  soon  ascertained  that  the  cause  of 
the  uproar  was  the  announcement  of  the  capitulation  of 
Vicksburg.  General  Gardner  immediately  surrendered 
Port  Hudson  with  its  garrison  of  more  than  6,000  men 
with  all  their  war  material.  The  Mississippi  was  now  open 
its  entire  length.  The  Confederacy  had  lost  from  July  1st 
to  9th  80,000  men  and  an  immense  amount  of  war  material. 
General  Banks’s  army  consisted  partly  of  troops  of  African 
descent.  Many  of  these  were  from  the  Northern  States, 
some  were  freedmen  emancipated  by  the  President’s  procla- 
mation. To  their  honor  be  it  said  they  were  not  guilty  of 
outrages  on  their  recent  masters.  They  made  efficient 
soldiers  ; more  than  50,000  during  1863  enlisted  in  the 
Union  armies,  and  about  100,000  the  following  year. 

Quite  a number  of  minor  expeditions  were  made  during 
the  siege  of  these  two  important  places;  the  first  of  these 


CHAP. 

LXII. 


1863. 


May 

23. 


July 


July 


988 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXII. 


1863. 

Apr. 

17. 


July 

8. 


Apr. 

7. 


July 

6. 


Aug. 

24. 


was  marked  by  boldness  and  success.  Colonel  B.  H. 
Grierson  made  a cavalry  raid  from  La  Grange,  'L’enn.,  with 
1,700  men,  sweeping  through  the  center  of  Mississippi, 
destroying  $4,000,000  worth  of  contraband  property,  and 
coming  round  in  safety  to  Baton  Rouge. 

The  Confederate  General  John  H.  Morgan  made  a raid 
into  Kentucky,  and  after  some  successes  and  repulses 
crossed  the  Ohio  at  Bradensburg  into  the  State  of  Indiana. 
The  people  turned  out  promptly  and  met  him  at  every 
point,  though  he  had  an  effective  force  of  2,800  men.  He 
was  chased  so  hard  that  near  New  Lisbon,  Ohio,  he  himself 
was  glad  to  surrender.  Only  500  of  his  men  escaped.  The 
gunboats  in  the  river  had  prevented  his  recrossing.  He 
did  much  damage  to  the  railroads,  but  so  imperfectly  that 
they  were  soon  repaired. 

A naval  expedition  under  Admiral  Dupont  was  fitted 
out  against  the  forts  in  Charleston  harbor.  Nine  iron -clads 
on  a clear,  bright  morning,  when  there  was  just  sufficient 
wind  to  blow  away  the  smoke  of  battle,  steamed  up  toward 
Charleston.  Not  a gun  was  fired  until  they  had  reached  a 
position  on  which  were  trained  the  guns  of  Forts  Sumter 
and  Moultrie  and  several  other  batteries.  After  a most 
gallant  bombardment  the  iron-clads  were  withdrawn,  as  it 
was  discovered  that  without  a cooperative  land  force  the 
forts  could  not  be  taken.  One  of  the  iron-clads  was  so 
damaged  she  was  blown  up.  General  Hunter,  in  command 
of  the  department,  was  succeeded  by  General  Q.  A.  Gil- 
more, and  Admiral  Dalgren  superseded  Dupont.  Gilmore 
now  began  regular  siege  operations  ; and  at  length  by  a 
continuous  bombardment  of  siege-guns  and  iron-clads  Sum- 
ter was  crumbled  to  pieces.  Gilmore  occupied  a point  four 
miles  distant,  and  from  there  he  threw  shells  into  Charles- 
ton itself,  which  was  soou  abandoned  by  most  of  the 
inhabitants. 

An  English  blockade-runner — the  Fin  gal — came  into 
Savannah  in  November,  1861,  but  was  unable  to  return 


THE  DRAFT  AND  RIOT. 


989 


with  a cargo  of  cotton,  because  of  the  fleet  investing  the 
harbor.  The  Confederate  authorities  fitted  her  out  as  an 
iron-clad,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  famous  Merri- 
mac , and  called  her  the  Atlanta . Her  prowess  excited 
great  expectations,  and  it  was  proclaimed  by  her  officers 
that  no  iron-clad  in  the  Federal  navy  could  withstand  her 
attacks.  Admiral  Dupont,  hearing  of  this  iron-clad  ram, 
sent  the  monitors  Weehawken  and  Nahant , under  Captain 
Rodgers,  to  Warsaw  Sound  to  watch  for  her,  as  it  was 
ascertained  that  in  a few  days  she  was  coming  out  to  spread 
havoc  along  the  coast.  Rodgers  arrived,  and  sent  a little 
steamer  up  the  Savannah  as  a scout.  Early  one  morning 
the  scout  announced  that  the  Atlanta  was  coming  down 
the  river  ; all  hands  on  the  monitors  were  piped  to  quarters. 
Rodgers  steamed  down  the  river  to  decoy  the  Atlanta  into 
deep  water,  where  he  could  more  easily  maneuver  the  Wee- 
hawken. The  ram  hastened  to  pursue,  thinking  the  mon- 
itor was  trying  to  escape ; when  she  came  within  easy 
range  Captain  Rodgers  slackened  his  speed,  and  he  himself 
sighted  one  of  the  Weehawken1  s 15-inch  guns,  and  the  shot 
smashed  the  Atlanta’s  pilot-house  to  flinders,  wounding 
both  the  pilots ; another  15-inch  shot  struck  her  half  way 
from  her  gunwale,  crushing  her  iron  and  wood  work,  and 
making  a large  hole,  killing  one  man  and  wounding  twelve. 
Four  out  of  five  of  the  Weehaivken’s  shots  took  effect ; the 
Atlanta  failed  to  injure  her  antagonist,  and  after  a contest 
of  fifteen  minutes  she  hauled  down  her  flag.  The  disap- 
pointment was  great  to  the  gentlemen  and  ladies  who  had 
been  induced  to  accompany  the  Atlanta  in  other  boats, 
with  the  expectation  of  seeing  her  capture  the  monitors. 

Congress  found  it  necessary  to  pass  a law  authorizing 
the  President  to  recruit  the  army  by  a draft  from  able- 
bodied  citizens  between  the  ages  of  20  and  45.  This  he 
ordered  for  300,000  men.  In  consequence  of  this  order  a 
riot,  the  most  terrible  in  our  history,  began  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  lasted  for  three  days,  but  was  finally  put 
down  by  the  police,  with  the  aid  of  armed  citizens  and 


CHAP. 

LXII. 


1863. 


June 

17. 


Mar. 

3. 


July 

13. 


990 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  soldiers  from  the  forts  in  the  harbor,  but  after,  it  is  esti- 

mated,  about  two  hundred  persons  were  killed,  mostly 

1863'  rioters.  The  latter  began  by  burning  the  houses  where  the 
provost  marshals  had  their  offices,  the  fire  often  extending 
much  farther.  The  spirit  which  animated  a certain  class 
of  the  rioters  manifested  itself  in  the  burning  of  the  Half 
Orphan  Asylum  for  colored  children,  and  other  fiendish 
outrages  were  perpetrated  upon  the  colored  population. 
Afterward  great  numbers  of  the  rioters  were  arrested,  tried 
and  sentenced  to  years  of  imprisonment.  The  riot  would 
have  been  subdued  sooner,  had  not  the  National  Guard — 
city  militia — been  absent  at  the  call  of  the  President  to  aid 
in  repelling  Lee  and  his  army  from  Pennsylvania. 

The  depression  and  disquietude  in  the  Confederacy  were 
very  great  after  the  reverses  from  July  1st  to  9th.  Jeffer- 
son Davis  issued  a proclamation  ordering  into  the  field  all 
white  men  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five. 
These  were  to  serve  three  years,  and  if  they  refused  to  report 
themselves  they  were  to  be  treated  as  deserters  from  the 
Confederate  army,  that  is,  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  being 
shot,  according  to  military  law.  The  Confederate  financial 
prospects  were  becoming  worse  and  worse,  and  these  reverses 
had  crushed  every  hope  of  recognition  by  foreign  powers, 
and  even  the  expectation  of  mediation  faded  away. 

The  laboring  classes  of  England,  as  far  as  they  under- 
stood the  matter,  sympathized  with  the  free  States  in  their 
struggle  with  the  slave  States.  The  intelligent  portion  of 
the  French  people  were  still  more  pronounced'.  The  Prot- 
estant pastors  of  France  in  an  address  (dated  Paris,  March 
12th,  1863,)  to  their  Protestant  brethren  in  England, 
because  of  their  want  of  sympathy  with  the  free  States  in 
their  struggle,  use  the  following  language  : ((  No  more 
revolting  spectacle  has  ever  been  before  the  civilized  world 
than  a Confederacy,  consisting  mainly  of  Protestants,  form- 
ing itself  and  demanding  independence,  in  the  nineteenth 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  with  a professed  design  of 
maintaining  and  propagating  slavery.  The  triumph  of 


FRENCH  ADDRESS — NATIONAL  BANKS. 


991 


such  a cause  would  put  back  the  progress  of  Christian 
civilization  and  of  humanity  a whole  century.” 

The  Confederate  authorities  were  greatly  exasperated 
because  colored  men  were  allowed  to  enlist  in  the  United 
States  army.  They  were  in  the  habit  of  giving  no  quar- 
ter to  these  soldiers,  and  the  atrocities  practiced  upon 
those  of  them  who  happened  to  be  captured  in  battle 
roused  President  Lincoln  to  issue  a proclamation  announc- 
ing that  for  every  captured  colored  soldier  sold  into 
slavery  there  should  be  put  one  Confederate  prisoner  of 
war  to  labor  on  the  public  works,  there  to  remain  until 
the  colored  soldier  was  free  and  treated  as  a prisoner  of 
war.  This  proclamation  ended  that  species  of  outrage. 

The  organization  of  National  Banks  has  proved  an  ef- 
fective agency  in  securing  a uniform  currency  and  cheap 
exchange  in  mercantile  transactions  between  the  different 
sections  of  the  whole  country.  These  banks  are  required 
to  invest  their  entire  capital  in  United  States  interest- 
paying bonds,  which  interest  is  paid  to  the  banks  them- 
selves in  gold.  Ten  per  cent  of  their  capital  is  retained 
by  the  Government  to  meet  contingencies,  while  ninety 
per  cent  of  the  same  is  furnished  to  the  banks  in  the 
form  of  circulating  notes.  These  notes  are  engraved, 
printed  and  registered  by  the  Government  alone,  in  order 
to  control  their  issue  and  prevent  fraud  in  the  circulation 
of  the  banks  getting  beyond  the  legal  amount.  Should 
a national  bank  fail,  the  holder  of  its  bills  cannot  suffer 
loss,  as  they  would  be  redeemed  by  the  United  States 
Treasury.  The  notes  of  these  banks  are  at  par  through- 
out the  Union,  and  as  such  are  received  for  all  dues, 
“ except  duties  on  imports  and  interest  on  the  public 
debt.”  This  financial  measure  greatly  facilitates  com- 
mercial relations  between  the  people  of  different  portions 
of  the  land,  and  aids  in  strengthening  the  union  of  the 
Nation. 


CHAP, 
i XII. 


1863. 


CHAPTER  L X 1 1 1. 

LINCOLN’S  ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 

Tbe  March  to  Chattanooga.— The  Battle  — Chickamauga.—  Burnside  ; 
Knoxville  —Consolidated  Armies.— Battle  above  the  Clouds.— 
Bragg’s  Defeat.— A Stringent  Order.— Marauders  in  Missouri.— 
Massacre  at  Lawrence —Red  River  Expedition.— Massacre  at 
Fort  Pillow.— Grant ; Lieutenant-General.—  Position  of  Affairs.— 
Sherman  flanks  Johnston;  he  falls  back.— Death  of  Bi'hcp  Polk.— 
Kenesaw  Mountain.— Across  the  Chattahoochee  —Hood  in  Com- 
mand.—Death  of  McPherson.— Battles.— Atlanta  Caponed.— 
March  to  the  Sea. — The  Christmas  Gift. 


From  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  at  the  first  of  the  year, 

till  June  25th,  Rosecrans  remained  in  his  camp  recruiting, 

1303  * 1 ^ ^ 

especiallv  his  cavalry.  Meanwhile,  General  Bragg  retired 

to  the  south  bank  of  Duck  river — a deep,  narrow  stream — 
whose  fords  he  fortified  with  the  greatest  care,  and  waited 
for  Rosecrans  to  come  and  attack  him  in  his  well-chosen 
position.  The  latter  advanced  not  in  the  way  marked  out 
by  his  adversary,  but  by  a series  of  skillfully  devised  flank- 
ing movements  compelled  Bragg  to  abandon  all  his  well-laid 
plans,  and  to  escape  being  taken  at  great  disadvantage  in 
the  rear.  He  fell  back  into  Alabama  and  continued  his 
retreat  across  the  Cumberland  Mountains  to  Chattanooga, 
there  he  made  a stand,  having  been  largely  reinforced  from 
Lee’s  army  by  Longs  treet’s  division  and  from  Johnston’s 
Mississippi  force,  and  paroled  prisoners  from  Vicksburg 
who  had  not  beeu  exchanged.  He  fortified  that  famous 
railroad  center,  and  at  various  points  on  the  Tennessee 
river  threw  up  defensive  works.  Rosecrans  was  much 
retarded  in  his  pursuit  by  the  excessive  rains,  the  swollen 


CHATTANOOGA — THE  BATTLE. 


993 


streams  and  the  want  of  bridges,  which  had  been  carefully 
destroyed  by  the  retiring  enemy.  Chattanooga  is  on  the 
Tennessee  river  at  the  mouth  of  a valley  formed  by  a creek 
of  the  same  name,  between  Lookout  Mountain  and  Mission- 
ary Ridge.  Lookout  Mountain  rises  2,400  feet  above  the 
sea ; the  base  is  wooded,  but  the  sides,  for  the  most  part, 
are  of  abrupt  rocks,  which  m places  are  perpendicular. 

On  Rosecrans’s  approach  Bragg  evacuated  Chattanooga, 
which  the  former  occupied,  himself,  and  also  a portion  of 
Lookout  Mountain  by  Crittenden’s  division,  and  the  valley 
of  the  Chickamauga  by  General  Thomas’s  corps.  Bragg 
advanced  his  forces  over  Chickamauga  Creek  to  get  between 
Chattanooga  and  Rosecrans’s  main  army.  'I  his  movement 
brought  on  an  engagement.  About  11  a.m.  the  Confed- 
erates attacked  the  Union  left  flank  with  their  whole 
strength,  and  forced  it  back  after  an  obstinate  resistance. 
The  Federals  being  reinforced  in  turn  took  the  offensive, 
and  by  4 p.m.  recovered  nearly  all  the  ground  lost.  The 
Confederates  left  their  dead  on  the  field  and  all  their  badly 
wounded.  Meanwhile,  Generals  Bishop  Polk  and  Hill 
assaulted  the  Union  center,  which  wavered  for  a short  time 
but  recovered  and  held  the  enemy  in  check ; then  the 
assault  was  made  again  with  a stronger  force,  and  the 
center  was  compelled  to  give  way.  Sheridan’s  division  came 
up,  and  presently  others,  and  after  a spirited  charge  at  sun- 
set regained  the  entire  ground.  After  dark  the  enemy 
made  a desperate  attempt  on  the  center,  but  were  received 
so  vigorously  that  they  abandoned  their  position.  This 
ended  the  first  day’s  battle. 

The  Confederates  renewed  the  conflict  the  next  day  by 
again  attacking  the  Union  left.  The  Federals  held  their 
ground  for  a time,  and  then  fell  back  in  order,  and  being 
reinforced,  checked  the  enemy.  Two  hours  after  they 
threw  a tremendous  force  upon  the  Union  center,  where 
General  Thomas  commanded.  During  the  night  his  men 
extemporized  a barrier  of  logs  and  fence  rails,  from  behind 
which  their  musketry  told  severely  on  the  enemy,  while  the 


chap. 

LXIII. 

1863. 


Aug. 

20. 


Sept. 

19. 


Sept. 

20. 


9^4 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIII. 


1863. 

Aug. 

11. 


Sept. 

1. 


artillery  on  rising  ground  in  the  rear  made  havoc  in  their 
ranks.  The  Confederates  came  on  with  frantic  yells. 
They  often  staggered  under  the  well-directed  fire,  but  would 
rally  again  under  the  urgency  of  their  officers.  The  Union 
center  had  been  weakened  by  almost  one-third  ; the  disor- 
dered portions  fell  back  toward  Chattanooga,  and  Rosecrans 
was  carried  along  with  the  crowd.  Thomas  then  moved  to 
a position  on  the  slopes  of  Mission  Ridge,  and  there  massed 
what  artillery  he  had,  which  played  most  effectively  on  the 
enemy.  They  were  urged  against  the  position  of  Thomas 
by  Longstreet  and  Bishop  Polk  with  a disregard  of  human 
life  scarcely  known.  As  they  came  up  they  were  slaugh- 
tered at  a terrible  rate  by  well-directed  discharges  of  mus- 
ketry and  artillery.  Then  they  made  a flank  movement, 
and  were  attacked  by  Union  cavalry  and  severely  repulsed. 
At  4 p.m.  Thomas  retired  in  order  to  Chattanooga.  The 
losses  of  the  Confederates  were  enormous,  as  they  were  so 
much  exposed  in  their  assaults.  Bragg  admitted  a loss  of 
18,000 — now  known  to  he  much  below  the  actual  number. 
The  Union  loss  was  1,644  killed  and  9,262  wounded. 

The  “ Army  of  the  Cumberland”  was  in  straits  for  pro- 
visions at  Chattanooga,  as  the  numerous  cavalry  of  the 
enemy  were  continually  breaking  their  long  line  of  commu- 
nications. The  Government  detached  two  corps  from  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  and  seut  them  under  Hooker.  They 
went  by  rail,  and  arrived  at  Chattanooga  in  an  almost 
incredibly  short  time.  By  the  same  authority,  General 
Grant  sent  Sherman  with  a large  portion  of  the  army  that 
had  captured  Vicksburg.  Rosecrans,  meantime,  had  been 
relieved,  and  General  Thomas  appointed  to  succeed  him. 

General  Burnside,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Ohio,  moved  through  Eastern  Kentucky  and 
reached  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  where  he  was  hailed  with  rejoic- 
ings by  the  inhabitants.  He  took  possession  of  the  famous 
Cumberland  Gap,  cutting  the  communication  between  Rich- 
mond and  Middle  Tennessee.  After  the  battle  of  Chicka- 
mauga,  Bragg,  at  the  suggestion  of  Jefferson  Davis,  who 


CONSOLIDATED  ARMIES. 


995 


was  visiting  his  army,  sent  Longstreet  to  drive  Burnside  out 
of  Knoxville.  The  former  made  an  assault,  but  was  so 
severely  repulsed  that  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  besieg- 
ing the  town,  which  he  did  till  he  was  compelled  to  raise 
the  siege  on  the  approach  of  Sherman  and  retreat  into  West 
Virginia,  and  thence  joined  Lee’s  army  on  the  Rapidan. 

The  authorities  at  Washington  consolidated  the  Western 
armies — the  Cumberland,  the  Tennessee,  the  Ohio — and 
appointed  General  Grant  to  the  command.  He  assumed 
office  and  appointed  General  Thomas  to  the  first  named ; 
General  Sherman  to  the  second,  and  General  Burnside  to 
the  third.  On  the  day  that  Grant  himself  arrived  at  Chat- 
tanooga, Hooker  surprised  and  drove  the  Confederates  out 
of  Lookout  Valley ; they  moving  round  the  mountain  to 
Mission  Ridge.  Sherman’s  troops  from  Vicksburg  arrived, 
but  so  secretly  that  Bragg  was  entirely  ignorant  of  their 
presence.  Grant  at  once  availed  himself  of  the  mistake  of 
sending  Longstreet  to  Knoxville,  and  began  to  make  demon- 
strations on  Bragg’s  left  to  divert  his  attention  ; sending  a 
large  force  with  much  ostentation  ; and  taking  position  on 
high  ground  in  sight  of  the  enemy,  but  as  soon  as  it  was 
dark  the  force  countermarched  and  reached  the  main  army 
in  the  morning.  He  also  sent  General  Thomas,  who  sur- 
prised the  enemy  and  drove  them  before  him,  obtaining  an 
important  position,  which  he  secured  bv  fortifying.  Mean- 
while, to  conceal  Sherman’s  march  round  to  Bragg’s  right,  he 
directed  Hooker  to  make  an  attempt  on  Lookout  mountain  ; 
he  moved  at  once  and  soon  his  men  were  picking  their  way 
up.  A fog  had  rested  upon  the  mountain  during  the 
morning,  which  concealed  the  movement  from  the  Confede- 
rates, and  they  only  learned  of  it  as  their  rifle-pits  one  by 
one  were  taken  ; at  12  o’clock  Geary’s  battalion  rounded  the 
peak  of  the  mountain  still  enveloped  in  clouds.  The  Fede- 
ral soldiers  had  been  ordered  to  maintain  their  place  if  they 
should  gain  the  top,  but  their  appearance  was  so  sudden 
and  unexpected  by  the  enemy  that  they  took  to  flight,  and 
Geary’s  soldiers  forgot  their  orders  and  rushed  on  in  pur- 


chap. 

LXIII. 


1863. 

Sept. 

29. 

Dec. 

3. 


Oct. 

18. 


Oct. 

23. 


Nov. 

23. 


996 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIII. 


1863. 


Nov. 

25. 


Nov. 

25. 


suit ; other  brigades  were  coming  up,  and  after  two  or  three 
sharp  conflicts  the  plateau  was  cleared,  and  the  Confede- 
rates aided  in  their  descent  over  the  rocks  to  the  valley  below. 
About  2 p.m.,  the  clouds  rolled  down  otf  the  mountain  and 
revealed  the  stars  and  stripes  planted  on  the  summit ; such 
was  the  battle  above  the  clouds.  We  may  imagine  the 
cheers  that  went  up  from  the  Union  army  below  in  Chatta- 
nooga. Sherman  had  now  come  within  striking  distance 
and  was  waiting  for  the  time  appointed — daylight — when 
the  whole  Union  line  was  to  advance.  From  a cone-shaped 
hill  called  Bald  Knob,  could  be  had  a view  of  the  entire 
battle-field ; on  the  top  of  this  hill,  Grant,  with  some  of- 
ficers, took  his  stand. 

Sherman  commenced  the  attack  on  the  Confederate 
right  about  10  A.M.,  and  in  an  hour’s  time  it  became 
general  along  the  lines.  The  contest  was  carefully  watched 
from  Bald  Knob  ; it  was  seen  that  Bragg  was  weakening  his 
centre  by  sending  troops  to  his  right ; the  crisis  had  come. 
Grant  signalled  the  command  and  three  or  four  brigades 
dashed  down  the  slope  and  across  the  valley  and  straight 
for  the  centre  of  the  Confederate  army,  literally  running- 
over  the  rifle-pits  in  their  front,  burst  out  of  the  woods  like 
an  overwhelming  torrent  carrying  all  before  them  ; the 
panic  stricken  enemy  fled  in  every  direction.  Just  at  sun- 
set the  Ridge  was  in  Union  hands  and  the  Confederates 
were  disastrously  defeated.  Pollard  says:  “A  disgraceful 
panic  ensued ; the  whole  left  wing  of  the  Confederates  be- 
came involved,  gave  way  and  scattered  in  unmitigated  rout.” 
It  was  a most  striking  scene  to  behold  the  flaunting  signal 
flags  on  the  tops  of  these  mountains,  telegraphing  to  one 
another,  and  to  hear  the  cheers  that  rose  along  the  lines  for 
six  miles. 

General  Grant  the  same  evening  telegraphed  to  Wash- 
ington : “I  believe  I am  not  premature  in  announcing  a 
complete  victory  over  Bragg ; Lookout  Mountain  top,  all 
the  rifle-pits  in  Chattanooga  valley,  and  Missionary  Ridge 
are  held  by  us.”  The  pursuit  was  commenced  the  next 


A STRINGENT  ORDER — ARKANSAS. 


997 


morning,  but  was  soon  discontinued,  and  Sherman  was  at 
once  sent  to  relieve  Burnside  at  Knoxville. 

The  authorities  at  Richmond  censured  Bragg  for  his 
misfortune,  alleging  that  his  positions  were  so  impregnable 
that  he  should  not  have  been  defeated,  and  General  Joe 
Johnston  was  sent  to  supersede  him  in  command. 

General  Grant  issued  a very  stringent  order  to  restrain 
the  soldiers  from  marauding  upon  the  inhabitants,  and 
appropriating  private  property.  Any  soldier  found  guilty 
of  such  conduct  was  to  be  summarily  punished.  Every 
effort,  consistent  with  military  necessity,  was  made  to  pro- 
tect the  poor  people  of  the  Confederacy,  and  these  orders 
were  enforced,  as  far  as  possible,  by  the  Union  officers. 

General  Fred.  Steele  was  sent  from  Vicksburg  to  occupy 
Little  Rock,  the  capital  of  Arkansas,  in  order  to  revive  the 
loyal  element  in  the  State,  and  re-establish  the  legitimate 
authority.  General  Steele  repaired  to  Helena  and  assumed 
command,  then  to  Clarendon,  on  the  White  river,  and  then 
across  the  country,  driving  the  Confederates  before  him, 
who  finally  made  a stand  three  miles  below  Little  Rock, 
but  were  quickly  defeated,  and  pursued  so  vigorously  they 
were  unable  to  set  fire  to  the  town.  Except  an  iron-clad 
ram  on  the  stocks,  property,  both  public  and  private,  was 
held  sacred.  A provisional  government  was  established  ; 
General  Steele  remaining  some  months.  The  Confederate 
power  in  the  State  was  effectually  broken,  and  only  squads 
of  guerrillas  prowled  about  the  country,  robbing  the  houses, 
granaries  and  cellars  of  their  own  people. 

In  Missouri  hordes  of  these  men  swarmed  over  the 
country  pillaging  the  people,  disloyal  or  loyal.  Under  an 
outlaw  named  Quantrell,  a band  of  these  marauders  dashed 
into  Lawrence,  Kansas,  at  half-past  four  in  the  morning, 
and  in  cold  blood  murdered  every  man  they  could  find. 

4 4 Eighty-five  widows  and  two  hundred  orphans  were  made 
that  morning.”  The  town  was  plundered  and  ladies  robbed 
of  their  jewelry. 

Expeditions  of  Federal  troops  occupied  Corpus  Christi 


CHAP. 

LXIII. 


1863. 


July 

25. 


Aug. 

17. 


Sept. 

10. 


Aug. 

17. 


998 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIII. 


1864. 

Jan. 


Mar. 

24. 


Apr. 

12 


on  the  coast,  and  Brownsville  on  tlie  Rio  Grande  in  Texas ; 
an  expedition  was  sent  up  the  Red  river  against  Shreves- 
port,  an  important  point. 

After  much  preparation  General  Banks  was  ready  to 
move.  Admiral  Porter,  with  fifteen  gunboats,  passed  up 
Red  river,  freeing  it  of  obstructions  and  its  banks  from  the 
presence  of  the  enemy.  The  gunboats  reached  Alexandria 
and  Union  troops  occupied  the  town.  The  Confederates, 
scattering  over  the  country,  burned  all  the  cotton  they 
could  find,  and  the  houses  in  which  it  was  stored.  The 
army  from  necessity  left  the  river ; the  advance  carelessly 
fell  into  an  ambuscade,  was  forced  to  fall  back,  and  finally 
abandoning  the  train  reached  the  main  army.  The  next 
day  the  Confederates,  much  elated,  attacked  the  Federals 
but  were  severely  repulsed.  It  was  thought  best  to  give  up 
the  enterprise  since  the  river  was  falling  fast  aud  the  gun- 
boats would  be  useless.  When  the  fleet  reached  the  rapids 
near  Alexandria  it  was  found  it  could  not  pass  down.  This 
was  obviated  by  the  genius  of  Colonel  Bailey,  of  Wisconsin, 
who  constructed  a dam  across  the  river,  thus  raising  the 
wrater,  and  at  a signal  the  dam  was  loosened  and  the  boats 
passed  safely  down  on  the  flood.  Thus  ended  the  fruitless 
expedition. 

The  Confederate  General  Forrest  carried  on  an  irregular 
warfare  in  Western  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  always  treat- 
ing the  Union  inhabitants  with  great  cruelty.  He  captured 
Union  City  and  its  garrison  of  450  men  ; he  also  made  an 
attack  on  Paducah  but  was  repulsed.  The  same  Forrest  and 
his  band  carried  Fort  Pillow  by  assault ; after  the  fort 
surrendered,  the  garrison  to  the  number  of  300  were 
slaughtered  in  cold  blood,  because  a portion  were  colored 
men.  Forrest,  from  his  statement  of  the  case,  seems  to  have 
been  at  least  not  altogether  responsible  for  the  outrage. 

The  successes  of  General  Grant  attracted  the  attention 
both  of  the  nation  and  of  Congress,  which  body  revived  the 
grade  of  Lieutenant-General,  extinct  since  the  retirement  of 


GRANT  LIEUTENANT-GENERAL — SHERMAN  MOVES. 


999 


General  Scott.  This  was  conferred  on  General  Grant ; who 
at  once  turned  over  the  army  at  Chattanooga  to  General  W. 
T.  Sherman,  and  repaired  to  Washington,  whither  he  had 
been  summoned  by  telegraph.  He  was  less  known  personally 
than  any  of  the  department  generals ; a man  of  deeds  and 
few  words  ; while  a strong  vein  of  common  sense  in  his 
character  gave  an  earnest  he  would  be  equal  to  emergen- 
cies likely  to  arise. 

At  the  White  House  the  President,  in  the  presence 
of  his  Cabinet  and  General  Halleck,  presented  him  his  com- 
mission of  Lieutenant-General,  saying  a few  words  of  kind- 
ness and  expressing  his  own  confidence,  then  adding  : “ As 
the  country  here  trusts  you,  so,  under  God,  it  will  sustain 
you.”  Grant,  after  paying  a compliment  “to  the  noble 
Union  armies,”  ended  by  saying:  “I  feel  the  full  weight 
of  the  responsibilities  devolving  upon  me,  and  I know  if 
they  are  met  it  will  be  due  to  those  armies,  and,  above  all,  to 
the  favor  of  that  Providence  which  leads  both  nations  and 
men.” 

He  entered  immediately  upon  his  duties,  visiting  the 
headquarters  of  General  Meade  to  confer  with  him,  and  the 
next  day  left  for  the  West  and  by  appointment  met  Sher- 
man at  Nashville  to  consult  with  him.  Grant  believed 
there  could  be  no  substantial  peace  until  the  military  power 
of  the  Confederacy  was  utterly  crushed,  and  to  that  pur- 
pose he  devoted  all  his  energies.  As  a summary  of  the 
position  of  affairs  at  this  time  it  may  be  stated  : There 
were  two  main  armies  of  the  Confederacy — one  under  Lee 
defending  Richmond,  the  other  under  Johnston  guarding 
the  approaches  to  Atlanta,  the  great  strategic  point  and 
railroad  center  of  Northwest  Georgia ; the  Mississippi  river 
was  patroled  by  Union  gunboats  from  St.  Louis  to  its 
mouth  ; the  line  of  the  Arkansas  was  held,  and  all  west  of 
the  Mississippi  north  of  that  stream  ; in  Southern  Louisiana 
a few  points  not  far  from  the  river  were  held  by  the  Fed- 
erals,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  was  a small 
garrison  ; along  the  Atlantic  coast,  in  addition  to  the  block- 


CHAP. 

LX1IL 


1864. 

Mar. 

3. 


Mar. 

9. 


Mar, 

10. 


1000 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIII. 


1864. 


May 

9-10. 


May 

13; 


May 

16. 


ade,  many  important  places  were  held;  and  on  the  Gulf, 
Pensacola  and  New  Orleans.  Such  was  the  position  when 
General  Grant  assumed  supreme  command.  His  design 
was  to  keep  Lee  and  Johnston  so  much  pressed  that  they 
would  be  unable,  as  heretofore,  to  aid  each  other. 

Sherman  was  ready  to  move.  At  Dalton,  thirty  miles 
southeast  of  Chattanooga,  was  the  Confederate  army,  30,000 
strong,  and,  by  its  well-chosen  position,  equal  to  twice  that 
number.  Here  Johnston  was  waiting  to  be  attacked,  when 
he  learned  that  a portion  of  the  Union  army,  by  a rapid 
march  through  passes  and  gaps,  had  flanked  him  upon  his 
left  and  was  threatening  the  railroad  in  his  rear,  while 
another  portion  was  moving  upon  his  front,  and  still  an- 
other on  his  right  was  marching  round  his  army  ; he  was 
therefore  compelled  to  give  up  his  stronghold  and  fall  back 
eighteen  miles  to  Resaca,  another  strong  position  behind 
Camp  Creek,  its  whole  line  well  fortified  on  steep  hills. 
Sherman  recon noitered  and  again  flanked  his  adversary. 
Johnston  at  one  time,  thinking  he  had  discovered  a weak 
point  in  the  Union  lines,  made  an  attack  upon  the  Twen- 
tieth Corps,  Hooker’s,  but  was  repulsed  at  all  points  and 
driven  from  several  strongholds.  Foiled  at  every  attempt, 
he  moved  his  forces  against  the  Union  left  flank,  and  at  7 
p.  m.  the  Confederates  came  in  tremendous  force  and  over- 
whelming numbers  upou  that  point.  The  Federals  were 
forced  back.  Suddenly  a cheer  was  heard,  and  Hooker’s 
Corps  came  up,  and  the  first  intimation  they  gave  the 
enemy  was  the  cheer,  which  was  followed  by  a rush  over 
the  dead  bodies  of  their  comrades.  They  broke  the  enemy’s 
line  beyond  recovery,  and  drove  them  more  than  a mile. 
At  2 next  morning  the  Confederates  evacuated  Resaca, 
passing  over  Oostenaula  River  and  breaking  down  the  bridge 
behind  them,  and  moved  on  until  they  reached  the  Etowah 
River,  over  which  they  crossed  and  took  position  in  the 
mountains  around  Altoona.  On  the  crest  of  these  moun- 
tains were  carefully  arranged  batteries  to  sweep  every  ap- 
proach, and  here  Johnston  resolved  to  fight  a decisive 


DEATH  OF  BISHOP  POLK — KENESAW  MOUNTAIN. 


1001 


battle.  The  Union  army  came  up,  but  Sherman  had  no 
idea  of  sacrificing  his  men  by  assaulting  so  strong  a posi- 
tion, and  he  flanked  Johnston  again  and  compelled  him  to 
fall  back  toward  Dallas.  When  within  four  miles  of  that 
place  Hooker’s  division  overtook  him.  A skirmish  began, 
other  divisions  came  up,  and  it  became  a battle  severely 
contested ; but  at  length  the  Confederates  were  driven  back 
to  where  three  important  roads  met.  The  Union  soldiers 
threw  up  entrenchments  during  the  night,  which  Johnston 
assaulted  and  was  repulsed.  The  Federals  afterward  made 
an  assault  upon  what  was  deemed  a weak  point  of  the 
enemy’s  line,  and  they,  too,  were  repulsed. 

The  Confederate  commander  remained  quiet  for  two 
days,  and  Sherman  ordered  a movement  to  his  rear,  and 
Johnston  again  thought  best  to  fall  back  to  the  new  posi- 
tion at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  fortifying  and  extending  his 
line  about  ten  miles;  his  centre,  Pine  Mountain,  being  much 
advanced.  On  these  mountains  the  enemy  had  signal  sta- 
tions, but  Sherman’s  sign-corps  soon  learned  their  sign-code 
and  revealed  their  secrets.  Bishop-General  Polk,  with  his 
staff,  came  out  on  the  crest  of  Pine  Mountain  to  reconnoitre. 
A rifled  field-piece  was  sighted  bv  Captain  Simonson,  and 
fired  at  the  group  from  one  of  the  Union  batteries:  that 
shot  killed  the  Bishop.  The  information  was  immediately 
communicated  to  both  armies. 

Sherman  decided  to  break  the  enemy’s  line  at  Pine 
Mountain,  the  advanced  center,  and  a rapid  artillery  fire 
was  opened  upon  it.  During  the  next  night  Johnston 
abandoned  the  mountain.  The  following  day  the  Union 
army  pressed  nearer  and  nearer,  and  Johnston  retired  to 
Kenesaw  Mountain.  Now  followed  several  days  of  rain, 
and  the  Federals  made  but  little  progress  in  their  ap- 
proaches. Hood’s  division  of  Confederates  made  an  assault 
upon  Hooker’s  advanced  lines  early  in  the  morning,  driving 
in  the  pickets,  and  came  upon  the  main  line  behind  ex- 
temporized breastworks.  They  were  repulsed,  leaving  the 
field  covered  with  their  dead.  Johnston  had  fortified  his 


CHAP. 

LXIII. 


1864. 


June 

14. 


June 

17. 


June 

22. 


1002 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIH. 


1864. 


July 

2. 


July 

9. 


July 

17. 


July 

20. 


lines  with  great  care,  and  Sherman  resolved  to  make  ap- 
proaches and  assault  them.  The  assault  was  made,  but 
failed  to  carry  the  point,  yet  the  Union  soldiers  held  their 
advanced  position,  and  Johnston  again  evacuated  his  lines 
in  the  night,  and  retired  toward  the  Chattahoochee  River, 
to  a new  fortified  line  on  which  a thousand  or  more  slaves 
had  been  engaged  a month.  The  fortifications  along  this 
line  of  retreat  were  constructed  more  or  less  by  the  same 
hands.  Sherman  followed  up,  and  by  flanking  his  adver- 
sary right  and  left,  held  the  river  eighteen  miles  above  and 
ten  miles  below  him,  while  Thomas  was  pressing  him  in 
front,  and  Johnston  was  compelled  to  cross  the  river  during 
the  night,  burning  the  bridge  and  his  pontoons,  and  fell 
back  toward  Atlanta,  five  or  six  miles  distant.  Sherman 
delayed  a few  days  to  repair  railways  and  bridges  and 
strengthen  important  points.  When  ready  he  began  to 
move  on  Atlanta. 

The  Confederate  authorities  at  Richmond  were  dissat- 
isfied with  Johnston,  and  he  was  relieved  of  his  command 
and  General  John  B.  Hood  appointed  in  his  place.  The 
latter  was  incautious  to  rashness,  but  full  of  courage. 
“ This  appointment,”  says  Sherman  in  his  Memoirs,  “ meant 
fight.”  Strong  breastworks  had  been  constructed  in  front 
and  around  Atlanta. 

About  noon,  the  Union  soldiers,  having  come  up  within 
skirmishing  distance,  halted  and  were  resting,  when  sud- 
denly the  enemy  rushed  out  of  their  nearest  entrenchments, 
and  fell  with  great  fury  upon  Hooker’s  corps  and  a portion  of 
Howard’s.  The  latter  extemporized  a barrier  of  fence-rails. 
After  two  hours  fighting  the  assailants  were  forced  to  retire 
to  their  entrenchments,  having  lost  more  than  4,000,  killed 
and  wounded,  and  accomplished  nothing  except  to  teach 
the  Union  army  to  be  on  its  guard.  The  Federals,  in  con- 
tracting their  lines  and  cutting  communications,  seized  a 
hill  near  the  Augusta  Railway,  from  which  elevation  cannon 
balls  could  be  thrown  into  the  streets  of  the  city.  This 


BATTLE — DEATH  OE  MCPHERSON. 


1003 


hill  the  Confederates  made  a desperate  attempt  to  recover, 
but  were  repulsed  with  loss. 

The  Union  army  still  continued  contracting  its  lines 
carefully,  when  about  noon  the  scouts  reported  the  enemy 
in  motion  and  massing  on  the  Union  left.  On  they  came 
without  a note  of  warning,  and  the  battle  raged  till  dark, 
with  occasionally  a gain  by  the  Confederates,  but  in  the 
main  they  were  repulsed  with  great  loss,  and  the  grasp  of 
the  besieging  army  became  still  more  strong  on  the  doomed 
city.  They  made  seven  assaults  during  the  day,  and  were 
as  often  repulsed.  Hood’s  loss  being  at  least  twice  as  great 
as  Sherman’s.  In  this  battle  fell  McPherson,  only  thirty 
years  of  age,  but  the  most  promising  of  the  corps  com- 
manders. General  0.  0.  Howard  was  appointed  to  succeed 
McPherson  in  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee. 

Meanwhile,  the  Union  cavalry  was  making  successful 
raids  around  Atlanta,  destroying  railways ; all  of  which 
were  broken  except  the  Macon  and  Atlanta. 

General  Howard’s  corps  was  sent  round  to  the  right 
of  the  city  to  destroy  a railroad.  Hood  was  on  the  alert, 
and  hurried  out  to  crush  the  force  before  it  could  get 
assistance.  On  he  came  in  solid  columns,  sweeping  away 
the  Union  pickets  ; but  presently  he  came  in  the  most 
reckless  manner,  with  his  men  crowded  together  upon  the 
Pederals,  who  were  behind  breastworks  hastily  constructed 
of  logs,  fence  rails  and  stones.  The  Union  soldiers,  delib- 
erately taking  aim,  swept  away  line  after  line  of  his  best 
men.  The  proportion  of  the  killed  was  unusually  large. 
“Six  successive  charges  were  made,  which  were  six  times 
gallantly  repulsed,  each  time  with  fearful  loss  of  life.” 
Hood’s  lines  were  about  twelve  miles  in  extent,  and  his  for- 
tifications were  manned  in  part  by  recent  levies,  that  he 
might  use  his  veterans  in  the  field. 

Sherman  determined  at  all  hazards  to  break  the  Macon 
and  Atlanta  railway,  south  of  the  city,  and  a large  force 
accomplished  the  work  effectually  by  burning  the  ties  and 
heating  the  rails  red  hot,  and  winding  them  around  trees 


CHAP. 

LXIII. 


1864. 


July 

22. 


July 

28. 


1004 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  and  telegraph  poles.  Hood,  noticing  that  a large  portion 

of  Sherman’s  army  were  gone,  thought  they  were  retreating. 

The  rumor  spread,  and  the  citizens  crowded  to  give  him 
28?  their  congratulations,  which  he  was  receiving,  when  a 
courier  on  horseback  dashed  in  and  brought  the  astounding 
news  that  Sherman  had  possession  of  the  road,  and  that 
Hardee,  who  had  been  sent  with  a large  force  to  protect 
Jonesboro,  was  disastrously  defeated. 

That  night  strange  noises  like  earthquakes  or  explosions 
were  heard  in  the  direction  of  Atlanta.  Hood  was  blowing 
up  the  magazines  and  evacuating  the  place. 

Sherman  entered  the  once  beautiful  city,  now  almost 
S<2Pt'  a mass  of  ruius,  and  it  was  telegraphed  over  the  land, 
“ Atlanta  is  ours,  and  fairly  won.”  Hood’s  scattered  forces 
were  afterward  more  or  less  united,  and  he  made  many 
attempts  to  annoy  the  Union  army  by  cutting  railroads  and 
attacking  places  garrisoned,  but  in  all  these  he  totally 
failed.  Sherman  detached  General  Thomas  and  his  corps 
with  other  divisions  to  move  on  Nashville  and  repel  Hood 
should  he  make  an  attempt  in  that  direction.  Jefferson 
Davis  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta  visited  the  region,  and  at 
Macon  encouraged  the  people  by  assuring  them  Sherman 
^23*’  would  yet  be  driven  back,  and  “ our  cavalry  and  our  people 
will  harass  aud  destroy  his  army  as  did  the  Cossacks  that 
of  Napoleon  ; and  the  Yankee  general  like  him  will  escape 
with  only  a body  guard.” 

Sherman  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Grant  made  a sugges- 
tion that  it  was  “ futile  to  chase  round  after  Hood,”  but, 
leaving  Tennessee  in  the  hands  of  Thomas,  “to  destroy 
Atlanta  and  march  across  Georgia  to  Savannah  or  Charles- 
ton, breaking  roads  and  doing  irreparable  damage  ; we 
cannot  remain  on  the  defensive.”  This  led  to  the  consid- 
eration of  the  question  more  fully,  though  it  would  seem  a 
similar  thought  had  occurred  to  Grant ; and  preparations 
were  made  for  the  “march  to  the  sea.”  Meantime,  Hood 
with  his  army  was  hastening  on  toward  middle  Tennessee, 
expecting  to  defeat  Thomas. 


THE  CHRISTMAS  GIFT — ORDERS. 


1005 


Sherman  now  destroyed  in  Atlanta  the  public  buildings 
used  by  the  Confederates  for  military  purposes — no  pri- 
vate dwellings  or  churches  were  designedly  injured — and 
set  out  to  push  across  the  country  to  the  sea,  and  if  need 
be  come  in  the  rear  of  Richmond.  The  army  marched 
in  two  columns  with  spreading  wings — extending  sixty 
miles — so  thoroughly  bewildering  the  enemy  that  they 
were  unable  to  make  much  opposition.  This  bold  march 
ended  December  10,  within  a few  miles  of  Savannah,  and 
soon  communication  was  had  with  the  Union  fleet  which 
was  in  waiting.  Three  days  later  Fort  McAllister,  the 
defense  of  Savannah,  was  taken,  and  General  Hardee  in 
consequence  evacuated  the  city,  which  was  immediately 
occupied  by  Union  forces.  Sherman  sent  the  following 
dispatch  to  President  Lincoln  : “ I beg  leave  to  present, 
as  a Christmas  gift,  the  city  of  Savannah,  with  150  heavy 
guns  and  plenty  of  ammunition,  and  also  25,000  bales  of 
cotton.” 

The  army,  when  thus  cut  loose  from  depots  of  provi- 
sions, was  forced  to  depend  for  sustenance  upon  the  coun- 
try through  which  it  passed,  and  strict  orders  were  given 
to  prevent  outrages  on  the  people.  “ Soldiers  must  not 
enter  the  dwellings  of  the  inhabitants,  or  commit  any 
trespass;”  wdien  needed  to  replace  those  injured,  foraging 
parties  were  permitted  to  take  “ horses,  mules  and  wag- 
ons,” “ discriminating,  however,  between  the  rich,  who 
usually  were  hostile,  and  the  poor  and  industrious,  usu- 
ally neutral  or  friendly  ;”  “ to  leave  with  each  family  a 
reasonable  portion  for  their  maintenance;”  and  “to  re- 
frain from  abusive  or  threatening  language.” 1 Com- 
plaints have  been  made  that  these  orders  were,  in  some 
instances,  not  fully  carried  out ; but  there  is  no  evidence 
that  their  violation  was  connived  at  by  the  higher  officers 
in  command,  but  that  the  marauders  were  punished  when 
detected. 


CHAP. 

LXIII. 


1864. 


Nov. 

16. 


Dec. 

20. 


1 Sherman’s  Memoirs,  Vol.  II.  p.  175. 


CHAPTER  LX  IV. 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 


LINCOLN’S  ADMINISTRATION — CONTINUED. 

Grant’s  choice  of  subordinates. — Battles  in  the  Wilderness.— Butler  at 
Bermuda  Hundreds.— Flanking  Movement. — Early  in  the  Val- 
ley.— Sheridan  in  the  Valley. — Sheridan’s  ride. — The  Mine  Ex- 
ploded.— Capture  of  Mobile. — Outrages  in  Missouri. — Capture  of 
Wilmington. — Battle  of  Nashville.— Defeat  of  Hood. 

We  now  return  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Arrange- 
ments were  in  preparation  for  the  final  struggle.  General 
B.  F.  Butler  was  assigned  to  the  general  supervision  of  the 
force  designed  to  follow  up  the  James  to  Richmond,  and  to 
make  a diversion  toward  Petersburg.  He  had  about  30,000 
men,  under  the  command  of  Generals  W.  F.  Smith  and 
Gilmore — the  latter  had  been  recalled  from  Charleston 
Harbor  with  10,000  men.  General  Sigel  was  in  command 
in  that  famous  battle-field  of  the  war — Shenandoah  Valley 
— in  connection  with  General  Crook  on  the  Kanawha,  West 
Virginia ; General  Meade,  the  hero  of  Gettysburg,  with 
the  main  army  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Rapidan. 

General  Grant  always  showed  great  skill  and  knowledge 
of  men  in  the  choice  of  subordinate  officers ; nor  did  he 
ever  seem  to  be  influenced  by  professional  jealousy.  He 
brought  with  him  to  Washington  only  three  or  four  staff 
officers — no  more  than  were  absolutely  necessary.  The  gen- 
eral plan  of  campaigns  was  marked  out,  and  he  availed 
himself  of  the  skill  of  his  subordinate  commanders,  who,  in 
the  details,  were  permitted  to  exercise  their  own  judgment 
in  accordance  with  the  general  plan.  Some  of  the  best  sug- 
gestions of  generals  in  the  field  were  frequently  disregarded 
by  Halleck.  the  commander-in-chief  at  Washington,  as  if 


BATTLES  IK  THE  WILDERKESS. 


1007 


he  knew  better — though  hundreds  of  miles  away — than  the  chap. 

equally  educated  commander  in  the  field.  We  must  not  

overlook  the  private  soldiers  composing  the  armies  of  the 
Republic.  They  were  intelligent  and  understood  how  much 
was  involved  in  the  contest ; with  this  knowledge  they  had 
left  their  homes,  and  were  willing  to  risk  their  lives  in 
defense  of  the  Union  of  their  country,  and  frequently  the 
superior  intelligence,  the  bravery  and  dash  of  private 
soldiers  crowned  with  success  important  maneuvers. 

Lee’s  army  lay  on  the  South  side  of  the  Rapidan,  vir- 
tually entrenched  in  the  “ Wilderness.”  This  is  a barren 
region,  covered  with  scrub-oak  and  tufted  trees,  where  a 
thousand  soldiers  could  keep  four  times  their  number  at 
bay.  This  was  intersected  by  many  narrow  cross  roads, 
bounded  on  either  side  by  a perfect  jungle.  The  whole 
district  and  every  road  was  thoroughly  known  to  the  Con- 
federate generals  ; and  Lee  from  his  position  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  ground  was  thus  able  to  throw,  as  he  wished,  a 
strong  force  on  any  particular  point. 

The  Union  army  crossed  the  Rapidan  at  Germana  Ford  May 
unopposed — purposely,  says  Childe,  in  order  to  secure  a 
battle  in  the  “ Wilderness.”  Grant  had  intended  to  pass 
rapidly  through  the  wilderness,  with  as  little  fighting  as 
possible,  and  force  his  adversary  back  toward  Richmond, 
because  in  that  jnngle  he  could  not  deploy  his  men,  and 
could  only  use  about  twenty  out  of  his  three  hundred  pieces 
of  artillery;  neither  could  he  use  his  cavalry.  Early  the 
next  morning  the  Union  army  began  its  onward  march  to 
get  beyond  this  labyrinth  of  trees,  when  it  was  met  at  two 
points  by  two  Confederate  forces  brought  up  by  parallel 
roads.  This  was  at  first  thought  to  be  a feint,  but  at  11  May 
a.m.  the  battle  began  in  earnest  by  the  Union  soldiers 
assaulting  the  enemy.  The  conflict  of  this  day  was  pecu- 
liar. The  soldiers  groped  for  each  other  through  the 
thicket,  and  with  various  successes  in  different  parts  of 
the  woods.  It  was  a drawn  battle — then  both  armies  lay 
on  their  arms. 


1008 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 

May 

6. 


May 

9-10. 


May 

11. 


May 

12. 


After  receiving  reports  from  his  subordinates,  Grant 
issued  orders  for  attacking  the  enemy  the  next  morning, 
and  at  dawn  Hancock’s  division,  sustained  by  Wadsworth, 
fell  furiously  on  the  Confederate  center,  and  after  a few 
hours  drove  it  a mile  and  a half,  taking  many  prisoners. 
They  were  now  reinforced,  outnumbering  Hancock,  and 
in  turn  forced  him  back  over  the  same  ground,  but  at  11 
a.m.  he  made  a stand  from  which  the  enemy  failed  to 
move  him.  Here  fell  General  Wadsworth,  a gentleman 
of  excellent  worth,  and  high  social  position  ; and  here  also 
fell  the  Confederate  Generals  Jones,  Jenkins  and  Stafford, 
very  efficient  officers.  There  was  a lull  for  some  hours, 
when  the  enemy  at  4 p.m.  made  a desperate  assault  upon 
Hancock,  and  partially  forced  him  from  his  position,  but 
being  reinforced  the  assailants  were  in  turn  driven  back. 
Here  Longstreet  was  severely  wounded,  and  carried  from 
the  field,  and  Lee  himself  took  immediate  command.  He 
restored  order,  but  could  not  retrieve  the  field. 

When  the  Union  center  advanced  the  next  morning,  Lee 
was  found  to  have  fallen  hack  to  a second  position  strongly 
entrenched.  This  line  of  battle  was  six  miles  long,  along 
which  raged  the  conflict ; Lee  fell  back  again  and  afterward 
fought  only  from  behind  breastworks,  except  where  it  could 
not  be  avoided.  The  Confederates  were  evidently  dis- 
couraged, and  when  a portion  of  the  Union  army  moved  by 
night  toward  Spottsvlvania  Court  House,  Lee  fell  back  lest 
he  should  be  taken  in  the  rear.  Now  commenced  a series 
of  conflicts  in  one  of  which  General  Sedgwick,  one  of  the 
first  of  the  corps  commanders,  was  killed. 

Grant  telegraphed  to  the  Secretary  of  war:  “we  have 
now  ended  the  sixth  day  of  very  heavy  fighting.  The  result, 
to  this  time,  is  much  in  our  favor.  I propose  to  fight  it  out 
on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer.” 

The  following  morning  at  4 o’clock,  in  a dense  fog,  the 
orders  were  given  as  quietly  as  possible,  and  the  march  was 
in  silence.  Hancock  made  a dash  at  an  advanced  position 
of  the  enemy,  rushed  over  the  breastwork,  and  captured  the 


BUTLER — BERMUDA  HUNDREDS. 


1009 


two  Generals,  Johnson  and  Stewart,  and  nearly  4,000  pris- 
oners, and  thirty  guns.  Hancock  moved  on  and  captured  a 
second  line  of  rifle  pits ; this  brought  on  a general  battle 
which  lasted  all  day,  the  latter  part  in  the  midst  of  a violent 
rain-storm. 

Grant  now  delayed  to  move  for  several  days,  in  order 
that  the  wounded  could  be  sent  to  hospitals.  A large  num- 
ber of  surgeons  arrived  from  the  North,  and  members  of 
both  the  Sanitary  and  Christian  Commissions  to  take  care 
of  these  wounded ; also  reinforcements  and  supplies  came 
up. 

General  Sheridan  set  out  at  daylight  with  a large  force 
of  cavalry,  moving  toward  Fredericksburg  to  deceive  the 
enemy ; then  southward  along  the  Confederate  right, 
reached  the  railroad  in  their  rear  and  destroyed  ten  miles 
of  it,  locomotives,  trains  of  cars,  and  an  immense  amount  of 
provisions,  and  released  400  captured  Union  soldiers.  He 
pursued  his  way,  burning  depots  and  breaking  railroads.  At 
length  he  fell  in  with  that  chivalrous  raider  J.  E.  B.  Stuart ; 
they  came  to  blows  and  the  Confederates  were  defeated, 
leaving  their  commander,  Stuart,  mortally  wounded.  Push- 
ing on,  Sheridan  came  upon  the  outer  defenses  of  Kichmond 
itself.  These  he  took,  but  found  the  second  line  too  strong  ; 
he  retired  rapidly  to  and  across  the  Chickahominy,  and 
after  a raid  of  five  days  returned  to  the  army.  This  raid, 
in  its  effects,  was  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  war. 

General  Butler  put  his  forces  on  transports  and  landed 
them  at  a plantation  named  Bermuda  Hundreds,  and  then 
fortified  his  position.  Then  he  sent  a force,  which  after 
severe  fighting  destroyed  a railroad  bridge  and  a portion  of 
the  track  seven  miles  North  of  Petersburg ; the  force  cap- 
tured some  entrenchments  at  the  railroad.  Beauregard 
was  in  command,  and  under  the  cover  of  a dense  fog  he 
made  a vigorous  attack  on  the  advance,  and  compelled  them 
to  fall  back  to  Bermuda  Hundreds,  and  then  threw  up  en- 
trenchments paralled  to  Butler’s  and  prevented  his  moving. 

The  Union  army  by  a flank  movement  came  upon  the 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 


May- 

19. 


May- 

24. 


May 

6. 


May 

16. 


1010 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 


June 

3. 


June 

7. 


June 

28. 


North  bank  of  the  North  Anna ; Lee  was  found  strongly 
posted  beyond  the  river  ; for  three  days  Grant  made  demon- 
strations and  then  in  the  night  commenced  flanking  his 
adversary,  and  Lee  was  again  compelled  to  abandon  his 
position  and  fall  back  ; all  the  Union  army  passed  the 
Pamunkey  river  and  moved  on  three  miles  toward  Rich- 
mond. 

Here  the  Confederates  made  a sudden  attack  in  great 
force,  but  were  repulsed  with  loss.  Then  Grant,  to  test 
their  works,  ordered  an  assault  along  the  whole  line.  This 
was  vigorously  done,  and  the  enemy  were  driven  out  of 
their  first  defenses  and  took  shelter  behind  their  second 
line.  These  were  too  strongly  fortified  to  be  easily  taken. 
The  Confederates  during  the  day  made  wild  charges  against 
the  Union  lines,  but  in  every  instance  were  repulsed  with 
loss.  Lee  ordered  attacks  on  three  successive  nights  on 
the  Union  lines.  Every  one  failed  and  his  army  sustained 
heavy  losses.  These  night  attacks  showed  the  desperation 
of  the  enemy  and  the  watchfulness  of  the  Federals,  who 
were  never  surprised.  By  agreement  there  was  now  an 
armistice  of  two  hours,  in  which  both  parties  buried  their 
dead  and  removed  their  wounded. 

General  Grant,  finding  the  fortifications  very  strong  in 
front,  determined  to  unite  with  Butler  and  move  on  Rich- 
mond by  way  of  Petersburg,  twenty-two  miles  south  of  the 
former.  According  to  Childe,  Lee  deemed  Richmoudmore 
assailable  from  this  direction  than  from  the  north.  This 
movement  took  the  enemy  bv  surprise,  as  it  was  accom- 
plished with  so  much  celerity  and  with  scarcely  any  diffi- 
culty. A portion  of  the  troops  passed  by  water  down  the 
York  and  up  the  James,  and  the  remainder  by  land,  cross- 
ing the  James  on  pontoon  bridges.  Meantime  an  impor- 
tant cavalry  raid,  under  Generals  Wilson  and  Kautz,  was 
conducted  south  of  Richmond,  destroying  a portion  of  the 
Weldon  Railroad  and  the  Southside  and  Danville — in  all 
about  seventy  miles,  with  rolling  stock  and  depots — and 
then,  after  severe  fighting,  returned  to  the  army,  having 


GENERAL  EARLY  IN  THE  VALLEY. 


ion 


lost  their  light  artillery.  “ The  damage  done  the  enemy  in 
this  expedition  more  than  compensated  for  the  loss  sus- 
tained.” 

Meanwhile  General  Sigel,  who  was  in  command  in 
Shenandoah  Valley  with  too  small  a force — 8,000  men — 
was  defeated  by  Breckenridge  ; General  Crook,  in  West 
Virginia,  failing  to  cooperate  with  Sigel.  General  Hunter 
was  appointed  in  Sigel’s  place,  and  he  was  ordered  to 
move  up  the  valley  and  destroy  railroads  in  the  vicinity  of 
Staunton  and  Gordonsville,  and  General  Crook  was  to  come 
in  from  the  Kanawha.  Hunter  hastened  on  and  met  the 
enemy  within  twelve  miles  of  Staunton,  and  after  a conflict 
of  ten  hours  routed  them,  capturing  1,500  prisoners  ; their 
commander,  General  Jones,  was  killed.  Hunter  lost  only 
fifty  men.  Three  days  later  he  occupied  Staunton.  Now 
joined  by  Crook’s  troops,  he  marched  toward  Lynchburg, 
to  which  place  Lee  had  sent  a large  force  by  the  railway. 
Hunter’s  ammunition  had  given  out,  and  he,  skirmishing 
on  the  way  with  the  enemy,  fell  back,  not  toward  Grant’s 
army  as  was  expected,  and  from  which  Sheridan  made  a raid 
in  order  to  meet  him,  but  toward  West  Virginia.  This 
retreat  left  the  valley  once  more  open  to  the  Confederates, 
who,  under  General  Early,  pushed  on  in  force  to  make  a 
raid  into  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  to  obtain  forage  and 
supplies,  and  as  usual  make  a demonstration  against  Wash- 
ington and  induce  Grant  to  send  reinforcements  from  his 
army.  The  latter  promptly  sent  troops  from  the  James, 
and  ordered  others  to  follow  who  had  just  arrived  in  Hamp- 
ton Roads  from  New  Orleans. 

Early,  with  about  20,000  men,  moved  rapidly  down  the 
valley  to  Martinsburg,  where  Sigel  was  in  command  with  a 
small  force.  The  latter  retreated  across  the  Potomac. 
The  enemy  followed  rapidly,  and  crossing  over  arrived  at 
Hagerstown  ; the  citizens  paying  them  $20,000  they  agreed 
not  to  burn  the  town.  General  Lew  Wallace  attacked  the 
invaders  so  vigorously  with  his  Union  raw  levies  as  to 
retard  them  until  more  troops  arrived  ; then  he,  being  still 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 


May 

15. 


June 

5. 


July 

3. 


1012 


HISTORT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 


Aug. 

6. 


Sept. 

15. 


Sept. 

19. 


outnumbered,  fell  back,  and  the  Confederates  moved  toward 
Washington  ; but  being  met  by  the  bold  attacks  of  General 
Auger  they  retired  across  the  Potomac,  and  were  in  turn 
pursued  by  Averill  with  cavalry,  who  overtook  their  rear 
guard  at  Winchester  and  captured  500  prisoners. 

By  this  time  Hunter  had  arrived  from  West  Virginia, 
and  was  ordered  to  maintain  his  position,  but  Early  was 
reinforced  and  again  began  to  move  down  the  valley,  forc- 
ing the  Union  troops  back  by  outflanking  them. 

At  this  time  another  Confederate  cavalry  raid  was  made 
into  Pennsylvania  under  McClausland ; he  suddenly  ap- 
peared before  the  village  of  Chambersburg,  then  defence- 
less, and  demanded  $500,000  ransom.  The  citizens  were 
unable  to  raise  so  large  a sum,  and  the  raiders  deliberately 
set  the  village  on  fire  and  burned  two-thirds  of  it.  In  no 
instance,  as  far  as  known,  did  the  Union  soldiers  purposely 
burn  the  private  dwellings  of  a village. 

General  Grant,  to  satisfy  himself,  hastened  from  City 
Point  to  confer  with  General  Hunter,  and  directed  him  to 
pursue  the  Confederates  up  the  valley  and  66  to  keep  the 
enemy  in  sight” ; to  sweep  the  valley  clean  of  provisions 
that  might  aid  them,  but  protect  private  buildings  as  far  as 
possible.  Hunter  expressed  a desire  to  be  relieved  ; Grant 
accepted  the  resignation  and  appointed  Sheridan  to  succeed 
him,  and  formed  the  “Military  Department  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, Washington,  and  Shenandoah  Valley.” 

Sheridan  soon  inspired  his  men  with  his  own  enthusi- 
asm, and,  being  reinforced  both  by  infantry  and  cavalry,  he 
prepared  to  act  promptly.  Grant  visited  Sheridan  to  assure 
himself,  and  after  an  interview  he  was  assured  that  the 
young  commander  understood  himself  and  the  enemy,  and 
his  simple  order  was,  “Go  in.”  In  two  days  Sheridan 
moved,  and,  early  in  the  morning,  attacked  Early,  and 
after  fighting  all  day  carried  bis  entire  position  and  drove 
him  through  Winchester.  Early  lost  3,500  killed  and 
wounded  and  5,000  prisoners,  and  he  did  not  dare  stop  till 
he  reached  Fisher’s  Hill,  thirty  miles  south  of  Winchester. 


SHERIDAN’S  RIDE. 


1013 


Scarcely  had  he  halted  to  rest  his  men  when  the  indomitable 
Sheridan  pounced  upon  him,  driving  his  forces  through 
Harrisonburg  and  Staunton  and  scattering  them  through 
the  gaps  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Sheridan  sent  forward  his 
cavalry  to  destroy  a portion  of  the  Virginia  Central  Rail- 
way, and  then  fell  back  to  Cedar  Creek  to  rest  and  refresh 
his  men. 

About  a month  later  Early  gathered  his  scattered  forces, 
and,  being  heavily  reinforced,  moving  rapidly  and  secret- 
ly, he,  early  in  the  morning,  fell  suddenly  upon  the  sleep- 
ing Union  soldiers,  who  were  completely  taken  by  surprise, 
hut  soon  recovered  themselves  and  sullenly  fell  back.  Sher- 
idan was  at  Winchester,  twenty  miles  distant,  when  his  ear 
first  caught  the  faint  roar  of  booming  cannon.  Suspecting 
what  was  going  on,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  at  full 
speed,  and  met  his  men  retreating,  they  having  been  driven 
four  miles.  He  dashed  into  their  midst,  and,  waving  his 
hat,  exclaimed,  “Face  the  other  way,  boys;  we  are  going 
back!”  Inspired  by  his  presence,  his  men,  with  loud 
cheers,  faced  about  and  fell  into  line.  The  enemy,  for  the 
most  part,  had  stopped  to  plunder  the  Federal  camp.  The 
Union  cavalry,  meanwhile,  moved  round  and  attacked  them 
in  flank,  while  the  encouraged  infantry  charged  in  front. 
They  were  in  a short  time  completely  routed  and  driven 
from  the  field,  abandoning  everything  ; neither  did  they 
stop  until  they  reached  Staunton.  Thus  ended  Confederate 
efforts  to  hold  the  valley  or  to  invade  the  North.  General 
Grant  telegraphed  to  the  Secretary  of  War:  “This  glori- 
ous victory  stamps  Sheridan,  what  I have  always  thought 
him,  one  of  the  ablest  of  generals.”  Sheridan  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  a Major-General  in  the  regular 
army  in  place  of  General  McClellan,  who  had  recently 
resigned. 

Colonel  Henry  Pleasants,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers, a practical  miner,  proposed  to  mine  a certain  point  in 
the  enemy’s  works  before  Petersburg.  The  proposition  was 
accepted  and  the  work  commenced.  In  less  than  a month 


CIIAPi 

LXIV. 


1864. 


Sept. 

22. 


Oct. 

19. 


Nov. 

8. 


1014 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS'  PEOPLE. 


chap,  it  was  finished.  It  extended  several  hundred  feet,  and  ter- 
— - — minated  directly  under  a redoubt.  In  the  mine  was  placed 
Jifali  f°ur  t°ns  Powder.  It  was  a success,  and  was  exploded 
25.  with  terrible  effect,  tearing  the  redoubt  to  pieces  ; but  un- 
July  fortunately,  by  some  mismanagement,  the  explosion  was  not 
followed  up  by  assault,  as  it  ought  to  have  been,  and  noth- 
ing of  value  was  accomplished. 

Around  Petersburg  the  defenses  were  so  well  arranged 

and  so  well  manned  that  it  was  madness  to  throw  away 

human  life  in  assaulting  them,  as  one  man  within  such 

entrenchments  was  at  least  equal  to  five  outside.  The 

Union  army  was  not  idle.  A strong  detachment  seized 

Weldon  Railway,  and  held  it  in  spite  of  the  most  strenuous 

efforts  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  to  dislodge  them.  Several 

other  movements  were  made,  but  without  material  success — 
Oct.  ’ 

27.’  one  on  the  north  side  of  the  James,  and  another  at  Hatch- 
er’s Run. 

The  capture  of  Mobile — the  main  port  for  blockade 
runners  on  the  Gulf — had  been  delayed  for  lack  of  coopera- 
tion on  the  part  of  land  forces.  At  length  it  was  under- 
taken by  Admiral  Farragut  with  his  iron-clads  and  war 
ships,  and  General  Canby,  detached  from  New  Orleans  for 
july  the  purpose.  The  expedition  arrived,  and  arrangements 
8*  were  made  on  board  the  flag-ship,  the  Hartford , with  Gen- 
eral Canby.  Mobile  Bay  is  thirty  miles  long  and  twelve 
miles  wide,  and  was  defended  by  several  strong  forts,  and 
within  were  floating  the  Confederates’  main  reliance,  the 
ram  Tennessee  and  several  iron-clads — all  under  Rear-Admi- 
ral Buchanan — besides  numerous  dangerous  torpedoes. 
The  troops  were  lauded  on  the  west  side  of  Dauphine 
Island,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Bay,  to  operate  against  Fort 
A"S-  Gaines. 

At  4.45  a.m.  the  fleet,  each  vessel  having  another  lashed 
to  it,  steamed  in  between  the  forts  and  gave  their  broad- 
sides at  short  distance.  Admiral  Farragut,  lashed  to  the 
maintop  of  the  Hartford,  had  the  fleet  under  his  eye,  and 
gave  his  commands  by  signals.  The  monitor  Tecumseh , 


OUTRAGES  IN  MISSOURI — WILMINGTON  CAPTURED. 


1015 


which  was  to  attack  the  ram  Tennessee , ran  foul  of  a tor- 
pedo and  was  sunk.  Then  the  Admiral  himself  turned  his 
attention  to  the  ram.  Several  vessels  ran  butt  against  the 
Tennessee , and  poured  in  their  broadsides  at  short  range. 
Finally  the  Hartford  bore  down  and  gave  her  a broadside 
of  nine-inch  solid  shot.  The  Tennessee  surrendered ; Fort 
Gaines  also  hauled  down  its  colors.  On  the  east  side  of  the 
Bay  Fort  Morgan  held  out,  and  was  opened  upon  ; after  a 
bombardment  of  fifteen  hours,  it  ran  up  the  white  flag. 
This  closed  the  port  of  Mobile  to  English  blockade  runners. 
As  the  city  was  strongly  fortified,  it  was  not  worth  the 
investment. 

General  Rosecrans,  was  assigned  to  the  command  in 
Missouri,  his  headquarters  at  St.  Louis.  This  State  was 
infested  by  disloyal  secret  societies,  and  so  many  soldiers 
had  been  sent  to  reinforce  the  armies  in  Northern  Georgia 
that  it  was  stripped  of  its  defenders.  Bands  of  bush- 
whackers were  prowling  over  the  State  murdering  and  pil- 
laging. In  one  instance  they  seized  a railroad  train  on 
which  were  twenty-two  unarmed  and  sick  Union  soldiers  ; 
these  wrere  taken  out  and  shot ! Sterling  Price  took  the 
opportunity  to  invade  the  State  in  which  he  was  once 
honored  as  Governor.  General  Pleasanton,  with  a force  of 
Union  cavalry,  pursued  and  overtook  him  at  Big  Blue, 
crushed  his  force,  and  Price  fled  still  further  south,  and 
made  another  stand  at  the  Little  Osage.  There  he  was 
most  disastrously  defeated,  losing  all  his  guns  and  1,000 
prisoners.  So  eager  were  some  of  the  Union  soldiers  to 
catch  him  that  they  rode  one  hundred  and  two  miles  in 
thirty-six  hours.  This  was  the  last  of  the  enemy’s  raids 
into  Missouri  ; and  the  land  had  rest. 

Wilmington,  N.  0.,  was  defended  by  Fort  Fisher,  which 
commanded  the  harbor.  This  place  became  most  impor- 
tant for  blockade  runners,  and  the  Government  resolved  to 
capture  the  forts  and  break  up  this  contraband  trade.  The 
first  expedition  failed  by  mismanagement,  and  the  second 
captured  Fort  Fisher,  after  hard  fighting,  with  its  garrison 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 


Aug. 

28. 


Jan. 

20. 


Oct. 

22. 


Oct. 

28. 


Jan. 

15. 


1016 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 

Feb. 

22. 


Nov. 

30. 


Dec. 

3. 


Dec. 

15. 


and  entire  armament.  Two  days  afterward  the  Confed- 
erates blew  up  Fort  Caswell.  This  gave  the  Union  navy 
complete  control  of  the  river,  much  to  the  grief  of  the 
English  blockade  runners.  The  Union  forces  took  posses- 
sion of  Wilmington. 

When  Sherman  set  out  for  the  seaboard,  Hood  moved 
northward  with  an  army  of  35,000  men,  he  confronted 
Thomas’s  cavalry  which  checked  him  near  Florence,  Ala- 
bama, and  continued  to  skirmish  before  him  as  he  ad- 
vanced. It  was  rumored  that  Hood  intended  to  invade 
middle  Tennessee  ; numerous  expeditions  both  of  Confeder- 
ate and  Federal  cavalry  were  made  during  the  months  of 
October  and  November.  Thomas,  meanwhile,  was  fortifying 
Nashville,  and  having  the  control  of  the  Cumberland  river 
by  means  of  eight  gunboats  he  was  at  no  loss  for  provis- 
ions. General  Schofield,  who  fell  back  slowly  in  order  to 
gain  time,  made  a halt  at  Franklin,  his  men  at  once  with 
spade  and  axe  entrenching  themselves.  This  had  become 
a custom  with  the  Union  soldiers,  their  aptness  enabled 
them  to  throw  up  breastworks  in  an  almost  incredibly  short 
time.  Hood  assaulted  these  defenses  of  logs  and  earth 
several  times,  and  was  as  often  repulsed  with  great  loss ; he 
had  1,750  killed  and  3,800  wounded  while  Schofield  had 
only  189  killed  and  1,033  wounded.  Schofield  fell  hack,  in 
accordance  with  orders,  to  Aashville  ; the  next  day  Hood’s 
cavalry  came  up  and  the  day  after  the  infantry  : their  prog- 
ress was  arrested  by  a series  of  fortifications  on  the  hills 
around  the  city. 

Much  uneasiness  was  felt  in  the  country  because  Thomas 
did  not  attack  Hood,  and  even  Grant  was  on  the  eve  of  re- 
lieving him  of  command. 

When  ready  the  sure  but  cautious  Thomas  moved  out  of 
Nashville,  a heavy  fog — which  did  not  lift  till  noon — favor- 
ing secrecy,  with  all  his  troops  in  order.  A heavy  demon- 
stration was  made  against  Hood’s  right  by  General  Stedman, 
by  which  movement  Hood  was  deceived,  and  sent  reinforce- 
ments from  his  left  and  center.  Then  at  the  proper  moment 


hood’s  defeat  and  losses. 


1017 


Generals  Smith  and  Wilson  swung  round  and  attacked  the 
weak  point  and  carried  every  thing  before  them  ; in  one  in- 
stance, the  cavalry  dismounted  and  carried  a redoubt  sabre 
in  hand,  then  a second  redoubt  the  same  troops  carried  in 
the  same  manner.  Then  Montgomery  Hill,  Hood’s  most 
advanced  position,  was  carried  and  many  prisoners  captured. 
Thus  the  Confederates  were  driven  out  of  their  original  line 
of  works  and  forced  back  along  the  base  of  Harpeth  Hills, 
a new  position.  The  result  of  the  day  was  the  capture  of 
1,200  prisoners  and  sixteen  pieces  of  artillery,  arms  and 
wagons  ; the  Union  loss  was  light. 

The  Federal  army  bivouacked  on  the  field,  and  prepared 
to  drive  the  enemy  on  the  morrow.  At  6 a.m.  they  drove 
back  the  enemy’s  skirmishers,  and  came  upon  a line  of 
wTorks  constructed  during  the  night  on  Overton’s  hill. 
Thomas  soon  arranged  his  men  with  a purpose/and  felt  of 
the  enejny  along  their  lines,  then  about  3 p.m.  ordered  an 
assault  on  Overton’s  hill.  This  was  in  full  sight  of  Hood, 
who  sent  reinforcements  from  his  right  and  center.  The 
columns  moved  to  the  assault,  and  thoroughly  drew  the 
enemy’s  fire,  but  they  were  finally  compelled  to  fall  back  to 
be  reformed.  The  signal  was  given  and  then  upon  the 
Confederate  right  and  center,  thus  weakened,  rushed  the 
Union  forces  under  Smith  and  Schofield,  and  carried  all 
before  them  with  the  greatest  impetuosity.  Meanwhile, 
the  assaulting  columns — having  been  reformed — for  the 
second  time  moved  upon  Overton’s  hill,  and  carried  it  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet.  In  this  assault  the  colored  troops 
behaved  with  great  bravery.  The  whole  Confederate  line 
was  broken  beyond  recovery;  the  pursuit  continued  till 
dark.  This  was  a most  disastrous  defeat.  From  Hood’s 
entrance  till  his  retreat  from  Tennessee  he  lost  at  least 
24,000  men  and  53  pieces  of  artillery.  The  desertions  from 
his  ranks  were  enormous  ; so  that  the  pow?er  of  the  rebellion 
in  the  West  was  now  broken  forever. 

Breckenridge  was  detailed  by  the  Confederate  authori- 
ties to  move  into  East  Tennessee,  especially  to  capture 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 


Dec. 

16. 


Nov. 

13. 


1018 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 


Knoxville.  He  had  some  success  at  first,  but  G-eneral 
Stoneman,  then  at  Louisville,  was  sent  to  take  command, 
and  in  the  short  space  of  four  days  he  drove  the  Confed- 
erate forces  out  of  that  portion  of  the  State.  The  Union 
men  of  East  Tennessee  suffered  terribly  in  this  war,  but 
with  heroic  courage,  and  amid  disappointments  the  most 
discouraging,  they  maintained  their  integrity  and  loyalty 
to  the  government  founded  by  their  fathers.  Hor  would 
we  depreciate,  but  rather  extol,  the  courage,  the  perse- 
verance and  the  self-denial  of  those  other  Southern  men 
who,  though  misguided,  met  the  Federals  on  many  a bat- 
tle-field, and  with  them  displayed  equal  courage. 

Unfortunately  the  mass  of  the  Southern  people,  espe- 
cially in  the  rural  portions  of  the  country,  were  not  fully 
informed  on  the  questions  at  issue.  Certain  leaders 
called  into  existence  prejudices  against  the  people  of  the 
free  States,  by  representing  them  as  hostile  to  the  inter- 
ests of  the  South,  while  at  the  same  time  they  urged 
their  own  extreme  theories  in  respect  to  State  sovereign- 
ty ; on  these  points  this  class  of  the  Southern  people  had 
opportunity  to  hear  only  one  side,  and  from  these  par- 
tial statements  a portion  of  them  came  honestly  to  be- 
lieve they  *had  a right  to  secede  from  the  Union.  It  was 
also  a singular  feature  of  this  contest  that  so  great  num- 
bers of  private  soldiers  were  drawn  by  conscription  1 from 
the  ranks  of  those  who  never  owned  slaves,  and  who  in- 
stinctively opposed  a war  designed  to  protect  and  extend 
that  system ; and  who  also,  upon  every  occasion,  when 
the  question  was  fairly  presented,  voted  against  secession. 
Though  thus  forced  into  the  army  they  fought  bravely, 
and  not  till  utterly  exhausted  did  they  succumb.  The 
women  of  the  South,  likewise,  displayed  heroic  fortitude, 
aided  their  own  soldiers,  and,  in  the  midst  of  trials  almost 
unparalleled,  cheered  them  by  the  example  of  their  own 
self-sacrificing  labors. 


1 Hist.  p.  943. 


CHAPTER  LX  Y. 

Lincoln’s  administration — continued. 

Grant’s  design. — Platforms  of  Parties.— Second  Inauguration — Disposi- 
’ tion  of  Union  forces. — Lee’s  Plans — Battle  of  Five  Forks. — Jefferson 
Davis  Flees. — Lee  Surrenders.— Richmond  on  Fire  and  Occupied. — 
Johnston's  Surrender. — The  Assassination.— Tne  Funeral.— An- 
drew Johnson.— The  Interview  between  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Grant 
and  Sherman. — Union  Loss  in  the  Rebellion.— Blockade  Raised. 
—The  Old  Flag  on  Sumter. — Amnesty  Proclamation— English 
Cruisers. — Alabama  and  Kearsage. — Lord  John  Russell’s  Protest. — 
Louis  Napoleon. — No  French  Blockade  Runners. — Provisional  Gov- 
ernors.— Telegraph — Reconstruction. — Impeachment  Trial. — Presi- 
dential Election. 

We  dow  return  to  before  Richmond.  The  victory  of 
Thomas  and  the  advance  of  Sherman  toward  the  coast  had 
given  a sad  aspect  to  the  Confederate  cause.  It  was  Grant’s 
design  to  keep  Lee  and  his  forces  in  and  around  Richmond 
till  such  time  as  he  could  be  captured  with  his  whole  army, 
as  he  might  possibly  retreat  by  Lynchburg  to  south  western 
Virginia  or  to  western  North  Carolina,  and  protract  the 
war  still  further. 

The  platforms  of  the  two  parties,  Republican  and  Dem- 
ocratic, may  be  taken  as  exponents  of  their  political  views 
during  this  Presidential  canvass.  The  former  said  : “We 
approve  the  determination  of  the  government  not  to  com- 
promise with  rebels,  nor  to  offer  any  terms  of  peace  except 
such  as  may  be  based  upon  an  unconditional  surrender  of 
their  hostility,  and  a return  to  their  just  allegiance  to  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States.”  And  “as 
slavery  was  the  cause  of  this  rebellion,”  and  used  for  its  aid, 
the  Convention  expressed  itself  in  favor  of  an  amendment 
to  the  Constitution  that  should  forever  prohibit  slavery  in 
the  United  States.  The  Convention  also  approved  the 
Emancipation  Proclamation  and  the  “employment  as  Union 


CHAP. 

LXIV. 


1864. 


1020 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1864. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN'  PEOPLE. 

soldiers  of  men  hitherto  held  in  slavery”;  and  “that  the 
national  faith,  pledged  for  the  redemption  of  the  public 
debt,  mast  be  kept  inviolate.” 

The  Democratic  Convention  resolved  “ That  this  Con- 
vention does  explicitly  declare  that,  after  four  years  of 
failure  to  restore  the  Union  by  the  experiment  of  war, 
that  immediate  efforts  be  made  for  a cessation  of  hostilities, 
with  a view  to  a Convention  of  all  the  States,  or  other 
peaceable  means  to  the  end  that  at  the  earliest  practicable 
moment  peace  may  be  restored  on  the  basis  of  the  Federal 
Union  of  the  States.”  The  Convention  was  silent  in  respect 
to  slavery  and  the  payment  of  the  public  debt.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln was  elected  ; only  three  States  cast  their  votes  for 
McClellan. 

Why  the  Confederates  did  not  submit  with  as  good 
grace  as  they  could  after  their  defeat  at  Gettysburg  and  the 
fall  of  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson — all  within  ten  days — 
is  one  of  the  marvels  of  this  marvelous  rebellion.  They 
were  expecting  the  Democratic  party  to  come  into  power  in 
1864.  which  they  deemed  more  favorable  to  them.  Says 
Childe  : “ The  choice  assured  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
and  the  defeat  of  General  McClellan,  who  was  regarded  as 
more  favorable  to  the  Southerners.*"1  The  inconsiderate 
boast  was  made  again  and  again  by  some  of  their  leaders 
that  they  would  never  submit,  but  as  guerrillas  take  to  the 
fastnesses  of  the  mountains.  Under  the  circumstances  this 
was  nothing  short  of  madness.  Had  they  been  fighting 
against  a people  of  different  race  and  civilization,  such  sen- 
timents might  savor  of  patriotism. 

On  the  Fourth  of  March  Mr.  Lincoln  entered  upon  his 
second  Presidential  term.  In  the  course  of  his  inaugural 
he  uses  the  following  striking  language : “ Fondly  do  we 
hope,  personally  do  we  pray,  that  the  scourge  of  war  may 
speedily  pass  away.  Yet  if  God  wills  it  to  continue  until 
all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondman’s  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every 
•.  Life  of  Lee.  p.  291. 


DISPOSITION  OF  UNION  FORCES. 


1021 


drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the  lash  shall  be  paid  by  another 
drawn  by  the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago, 
so,  still  it  must  be  said,  that  the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are 
true  and  righteous  altogether.”  Further  on  he  indicates 
his  purpose,  saying:  “With  malice  toward  none,  with 
charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us 
to  see  the  right.” 

Dispositions  were  now  made  of  the  Union  forces  that 
would  in  a short  campaign  break  the  Confederacy  to  pieces. 
Sheridan  from  the  valley  was  to  move  toward  Lynchburg, 
destroying  James  River  Canal  and  railroads  ; and  Stoneman 
to  move  from  East  Tennessee  with  a cavalry  force  of  5,000  ; 
one  from  Vicksburg,  7,000  or  8,000  strong,  to  sweep 
through  Northern  Mississippi ; one  from  East  Port,  Miss., 
numbering  10,000  ; General  Canby,  from  Mobile,  with  a 
mixed  army  of  38,000,  to  move  on  Tuscaloosa,  Selma  and 
Montgomery  ; and  5,000  cavalry  were  to  start  from  Nash- 
ville. These  movements  were  to  be  simultaneous  as  much 
as  possible. 

Of  these,  Sheridan  was  the  first  to  move.  He  left  Win- 
chester with  two  divisions  of  cavalry  each  5,000  strong. 
Passing  up  the  valley,  entered  Staunton  ; the  enemy  re- 
treated, and  he  pushed  on  in  pursuit  to  find  them  in  force 
under  General  Early  in  an  intrenched  position  at  Waynes- 
boro. Without  waiting  to  reconnoiter,  he  assaulted  the 
works  and  carried  them,  and  secured  1,500  prisoners  and 
eleven  pieces  of  artillery.  Thence  his  men  rode  to  Char- 
lottesville, making  havoc  of  railroads  and  bridges,  toward 
Lynchburg  and  Richmond,  moving  along  the  James  River 
Canal,  destroying  locks  and  cutting  the  banks  to  let  out  the 
water,  then  passed  around  and  north  of  Richmond  and 
joined  the  army  before  Petersburg.  This  was  the  most 
effective  cavalry  raid  of  the  war. 

Lee  had  laid  plans  to  evacuate  both  Petersburg  and 
Richmond,  and  unite  near  Danville  with  the  force  of  John- 
ston, who  was  to  fall  back  from  before  Sherman’s  advance. 
To  cover  this  movement  he  made  a vigorous  attack  on 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1864. 


1865. 

Feb. 

37. 


Mar. 

3. 


Mar. 

24. 


1022 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


ctaf.  Gran  fs  array,  in  tea  ding  when  it  was  in  confusion  to  march 

— . I - . t . _ 

Confederate  troops  under  General  Gordon,  at  davLgiit, 
furiously  assaulted  Fort  Stedman,  a point  in  the  Union 
lines.  The  garrison  were  surprised  by  the  suddenness  of  the 
attack,  and  were  overpowered.  The  triumph  was  short. 
The  neighboring  Union  forts  poured  in  their  shot  so  inces- 
santly that  in  a short  time  Gordons  troops.  2,000  in  all, 
were  forced  to  surrender.  General  Meade  now  ordered 
forward  the  Second  and  Sixth  Corps,  who  seized  the  Con- 
federate well-mtreuched  picket  line,  securing  a large  num- 
ber of  prisoners.  On  the  extreme  Federal  left  a similar 
move  was  made  with  similar  success.  At  2 p.m.  Lee  made 
an  effort  to  regain  these  lines,  but  bis  forces  were  repulsed 
in  every  attempt,  and  with  great  loss.  To  make  a junction 
with  Johnston  was  now  impossible. 

Grant  at  once  resolved  to  attack  the  enemy  and  cut  off 
their  retreat  by  the  Danville  road.  In  preparation  he 
^ secretly  sent  troops  to  his  extreme  left  and  gave  orders  to 
28."  Sheridan  to  move  on  D nwiddie  Court  House.  Lee  learned 
of  these  movements,  and  suspecting  the  design  threw 
17,000  of  his  best  men  to  the  support  of  his  right.  A 
severe  storm  of  rain  retarded  operations  for  two  days.  Lee 
endeavored  to  use  his  accustomed  tactics  of  throwing  a 
Mat.  large  force  upon  a weak  point,  and  in  this  battle  of  White 
Oak  road  he  gained  advantage  at  first,  but  only  to  be  beaten 
off : and  finally  the  Federal  troops  carried  the  very  earth- 
works from  which  the  enemy  issued,  and  obtained  posses- 
sion cf  the  road. 

Lee  had  fortified  Five  Forks — a crossing  where  five 
roads  meet — a strategic  point  of  great  importance,  by 
which  was  his  only  way  of  retreat.  Toward  this  place  both 
armies  made  their  way.  When  the  Union  cavalry  reached 
Five  Forks  they  found  the  enemy  in  position  and  were  com- 
pelled to  fall  back.  The  Confederates  at  once  poshed  on 
vigorously,  and  fording  a stream  attacked  Sheridan's  left 
center  and  drove  it  back  ; but  presently  a fresh  brigade,  by 


BATTLE — FIVE  FORKS. 


1023 


a gallant  onset,  checked  their  advance  for  a time.  Sheridan 
dismounted  his  cavalry  and  managed  them  so  skillfully  as 
to  repel  the  attack  at  every  point.  At  dark  the  Confeder- 
ates withdrew  to  their  entrenchments  at  Five  Forks,  where 
Lee  had  concentrated  his  forces.  The  control  of  the  com- 
ing battle  was  entrusted  to  Sheridan,  who  was  on  the  field, 
by  Generals  Grant  and  Meade.  The  former  promptly  made 
dispositions  of  his  troops,  and  in  the  early  morning  com- 
menced the  attack.  The  Union  force  under  General  Mer- 
rit#d  rove  the  Confederates  in  front  of  them  to  the  Five 
Forks  skirmish  line,  then  by  impetuous  attacks  they  were 
by  two  p.m.  driven  within  their  main  works.  Sheridan  in 
his  report  says  : “ The  enemy  were  driven  from  their  strong 
line  of  w7orks  and  completely  routed ; the  Fjfth  Corps 
doubling  up  their  left  flank  in  confusion  and  the  cavalry  of 
General  Merritt  dashing  on  to  the  White  Oak  road,  capturing 
their  artillery  and  turning  it  upon  them,  and  riding  into 
their  broken  ranks  so  demoralized  them  that  they  made  no 
serious  stand  after  their  line  was  carried,  but  took  to  flight 
in  disorder.”  The  Confederates  were  pursued  six  miles, 
and  lost,  besides  the  killed  and  wounded,  between  five 
and  six  thousand  prisoners. 

The  following  night  was  made  hideous  by  a constant 
bombardment  along  the  whole  Union  line,  and  at  4 a.m. 
Sunday,  a combined  assault  was  successfully  made  upon  the 
enemy’s  works  and  the  South  Side  Railroad  was  seized. 
The  Confederates,  driven  on  their  left  by  Meade  and  by 
Sheridan  on  their  right,  were  broken,  and  in  great  confu- 
sion rushed  in  a mass  westward  by  the  main  road  along  the 
bank  of  the  Appomattox. 

The  following  night  was  one  of  terror  in  Richmond. 
At  the  last  moment  the  citizens  were  convinced  that  their 
city  must  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Federal  troops.  Jeffer- 
son Davis  had  already  gone.  When  in  church  in  the  after- 
noon he  received  a telegram  from  Lee,  stating  that  his  army 
had  been  driven  from  their  fortifications,  and  Petersburg 
was  occupied,  and  he  must  evacuate  Richmond.  Lee  was 


CHAP. 

LXV. 

1865. 


Apr 

1.' 


Apr 

2. 


Iu24 


HXSTOBY  OF  THE  AHEBICAY  PEOPLE. 


CHAP 

LXV. 


1S6-5. 


Apr. 


Apr. 

9. 


moving  toward  the  Danville  road,  in  hopes  to  form  a junc* 
don  with  Johnston,  who,  at  his  instance,  had  been  pnt  in 
command  of  the  Confederates  hastily  concentrated  to  oppose 
Sherman.  It  was  of  vast  importance  that  both  Lee's  and 
Johnston's  armies  should  be  captured  and  the  war  ended. 
At  length,  when  Lee  was  completely  surrounded.  General 
Grant  sent  a note  under  a flag  of  truce  to  him,  saying.  I 
regard  it  as  my  duty  to  shift  from  myself  the  responsibility 
of  any  farther  effusion  of  blood  by  asking  of  yon  the  sur- 
render of  the  army  under  command.3  Several  <#m- 

munications  passed  between  the  opposing  generals.  Finally 
Grant  wrote,  *'*  The  terms  upon  which  peace  can  be  had 
are  well  understood.  By  the  South  laving  down  their  arms 
they  will  hasten  that  most  desirable  event,  save  thous; 
of  human  lives,  and  hundreds  of  million^  _-f  property  not 
yet  destroyed.'5  An  interview  was  held  between  the  two 
commanders.  The  result  was  the  Confederates  laid  down 
their  arms,  and  were  paroled  as  prisoners  of  war  and  per- 
mitted to  return  to  their  homes.  The  victors  were  mag- 
nanimous ; they  abstained  from  every  appearance  of  insult 
toward  the  vanquished.  Abundant  victuals  were  distrib- 
uted to  the  prisoners,  who  were  dying  of  hanger.’71 

On  Monday,  April  4th,  about  noon.  General  Weitzel 
occupied  Richmond.  which  was  in  a sad  condition,  on  fire, 
and  in  the  hands  of  thieves  and  robbers.  The  Union  sol- 
diers, as  so  often  before,  used  their  efforts  to  extinguish 
the  flames  and  arrest  the  plundering.  Both  of  these  were 
accomplished  by  night,  when  peace  and  order  once  more 
reigned.  Thus  it  was.  from  the  wanton  burning  of  Hamp- 
ton village  to  the  firing  of  Richmond,  the  private  property 
of  the  Southern  people  suffered  from  the  insane  folly  of  her 
leaders.  General  Ewell,  commanding  the  rear  guard  of  the 
Confederate  army,  destroyed  the  bridges  over  the  James 
river,  and  then,  obeving  his  instructions  to  the  letter,  but 
against  the  earnest  protest  of  the  mayor  and  principal  citi- 
zens, set  on  fire  warehouses  and  flour-mills.  Says  Pollard; 

Life  of  Lee,  p.  32L 


DAVIS’S  PROCLAMATION — BURNING  OE  COLUMBIA. 


1025 


“ The  warehouses  were  fired  ; the  flames  seized  on  the 
neighboring  buildings,  and  soon  involved  a wide  and  widen- 
ing area.  The  conflagration  passed  beyond  control,  and  in 
this  mad  fire,  this  wild,  unnecessary  destruction  of  private 
property,  the  citizens  of  Eichmond  bad  a fitting  souvenir 
of  the  imprudence  and  recklessness  of  the  departing  admin- 
istration.” 

Jelferson  Davis  paused  in  his  flight  at  Danville,  Virginia, 
to  issue  a proclamation  ; after  alluding  to  the  abandonment 
of  Petersburg  and  Eichmond  he  says  : Virginia,  with  the 
help  of  the  people,  and  by  the  blessing  of  Providence,  shall 
be  held  and  defended,  and  no  peace  ever  be  made  with  the 
infamous  invaders  of  her  territory.”  A little  more  than  a 
month  afterward,  he  was  captured  while  in  disguise  attempt- 
ing to  escape.  He  was  brought  to  Fortress  Monroe  and 
there  imprisoned  under  an  indictment  for  treason,  but 
his  trial  was  postponed  from  time  to  time,  and  finally  he 
was  released  on  bail.  When  the  Union  troops  arrived  at 
Columbia,  South  Carolina,  they  found  the  place  evacuated 
by  Wade  Hampton,  who  before  leaving  had  ordered  the  cot- 
ton stored  in  the  place  to  be  burned,  much  of  it  in  bales  in 
the  street ; the  Union  soldiers  labored  to  put  out  the  fire 
and  thought  they  were  successful,  but  at  night  came  up  a 
high  wind,  the  smouldering  fire  revived  and  spread  in  spite 
of  the  Provost  Marshal  and  his  soldiers  ; the  greater  portion 
of  the  beautiful  village  was  burned. 

General  Sherman  pressed  on  Johnston,  and  having  re- 
ceived the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Lee,  he  moved  from 
Goldsboro  to  Raleigh,  the  capital  of  the  State,  which  place 
was  occupied,  much  to  the  relief  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
were  being  pillaged  by  desperadoes  from  their  own  army. 
Johnston  also  had  heard  of  Lee’s  surrender,  and  sent  a flag 
of  truce  to  Sherman  asking  an  armistice  preliminary  to  a 
surrender ; a conference  was  held  by  the  two  commanders 
and  an  arrangement  made  for  the  surrender  of  Johnston’s 
army ; this  was  so  far  modified  by  the  authorities  at 
Washington  as  to  conform  to  the  conditions  on  which  Lee 


CHAP, 

LXY. 


1865. 


May 

11. 


1867. 


1865. 

Apr. 

17. 


- 21 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AM  ERIC  AX  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LIT. 


186-5. 


Apr. 

14. 


had  surrendered.  The  other  Confederate  armies  through- 
out the  South  submitted,  Kirby  Smith  in  Texas  being  the 
last ; and  thus  the  greatest  rebeEion  in  history  collapsed. 

In  the  midst  of  the  rejoicings  at  the  downfaE  of  Lee  and 
capture  of  Richmond,  and  the  sure  anticipation  of  the  fate 
of  Johnston’s  army,  the  President  was  assassinated  by  John 
Wilkes  Booth  ; a violent  sympathiser  with  the  rebellion, 
though  of  Northern  birth.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  were 
seated  in  a private  box  in  a theater  when  the  fatal  shot  was 
fired,  at  about  half  past  nine  in  the  evening  ; Mr.  Lincoln 
lingered  tiE  twentv  minutes  past  sei  so  the  following  morn- 
ing. Never  before  did  the  nation  manifest  such  intense 
grief  as  this  event  produced.  The  sorrow  of  the  army  was 
striking  and  remarkable ; yet  those  noble  men  in  the  midst 
of  their  grief  never  whispered  of  retaliation  in  auy  form. 
Says  General  Johnston  in  relation  to  the  bearing  of  the 
Union  army  after  his  own  surrender,  and  just  after  the  assas- 
sination became  known  : “The  Union  soldiers  treated  the 
people  around  them  as  they  would  have  done  those  of 
Ohio  or  New  York  if  stationed  among  them  as  their  feEow 
citizens.”1 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  endeared  himself  to  all.  even  to  great 
numbers  of  his  political  opponents,  by  his  self  devotion  and  * 
kindness  of  heart,  and  that  rare  combination  of  talent  and 
common  sense  which  made  him  equal  to  anv  emergency  in 
which  he  might  be  placed.  In  him  the  Southern  people 
lost  their  best  friend  : and  that  truth  the  inteEigent  among 
them  recognized.  The  remains  of  the  Martyr  President 
were  carried  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  his  former  place  of 
residence.  It  was  an  immense  funeral  procession,  lasting 
for  fourteen  days  ; the  people  along  the  route  thronging  in 
crowds  to  pay  honor  to  his  memory.  He  was  laid  in  his  last 
resting  place  on  the  4th  of  May. 

It  would  seem  the  conspirators  aimed  at  the  same  time 
to  assassinate  the  members  of  the  Cabinet.  The  attempt 
was  made  to  kill  Mr.  Seward.  Secretary  of  State,  who  at  the 
‘‘Military  Narrative,  p.  419- 


JOHNSON  PRESIDENT — BOOTH. 


1027 


time  was  confined  to  his  room  by  illness.  The  assassin 
failed  though  he  wounded  Mr.  Seward,  and  also  his  son 
Frederick  W.,  assistant  Secretary. 

JOHNSON’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Andrew  Johnson,  by  virtue  of  his  office  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent, and  in  accordance  with  the  law,  assumed  the  duties  of 
President  of  the  United  States.  He  was  a native  of  Raleigh, 
North  Carolina;  thence  removed  to  Greenville,  Tennessee. 
In  his  youth  his  education  had  been  much  neglected,  not 
even  knowing  the  alphabet  at  the  age  of  seventeen ; 
but  by  his  energy  and  perseverance  he  not  only  educated  him- 
self but  won  the  respect  of  his  fellow  citizens,  who  elected 
him  alderman,  then  Mayor ; then  their  representative  in 
the  Legislature,  then  to  Congress  and  finally  Governor  of 
the  State. 

Booth  escaped  by  leaping  from  the  box  to  the  stage, 
and  then  by  a side  door  to  the  street,  where  a horse  was 
in  readiness,  which  he  mounted  and  rode  rapidly  away, 
accompanied  by  an  accomplice  named  Harold.  He  was 
pursued  vigorously,  and  a few  days  afterward  was  traced  to 
a barn  in  lower  Maryland,  and  when  it  was  surrounded  he 
was  ordered  to  surrender,  but  refused,  though  Harold  gave 
himself  up.  Booth,  in  desperation,  resolved  to  sell  his 
life  dearly,  but  before  he  could  do  harm  he  was  shot  down 
by  Sergeant  Corbett,  one  of  his  pursuers.  Others  of  the 
conspirators  were  arrested,  tried  by  court  martial,  four  of 
them  were  found  guilty  and  hanged,  and  the  three  accom- 
plices were  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life. 

In  an  interview  between  President  Lincoln  and  Gen- 
erals Grant  and  Sherman,  on  board  a steamer  at  City 
Point.  Virginia,  the  two  generals  gave  as  their  opinion 
that  one  more  bloody  battle  would  have  to  be  fought  before 
the  power  of  the  rebellion  could  be  broken.  Mr.  Lincoln, 
with  deep  emotion,  exclaimed  more  than  once,  “That 
there  had  been  blood  enough  shed,  and  asked  if  another 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1865. 


Apr. 

15. 


July 

7. 

Mar. 

28. 


1028 


HI5TOEY  OF  THE  AMERICANS'  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1S65. 


battle  could  not  be  avoided.”  The  answer  wa s,  “That 
depended  on  Jefferson  Davis  and  General  Lee.”  During 
the  interim  Mr.  Lincoln  said,  *'*  All  he  wanted  for  us  was 
to  defeat  the  opposing  armies,  and  to  get  the  men  com- 
posing the  Confederate  armies  back  to  their  homes,  at 
work  on  their  farms  and  in  their  shops,”1  “ and  restore  all 
the  men  of  both  sections  to  their  homes.”  In  accordance 
with  this  sentiment  General  Grant,  as  soon  as  Lee  surren- 
dered, advised  the  reduction  of  the  armies,  that  the  men 
might  return  to  civil  life  and  their  duties  as  citizens ; he 
even  did  not  visit  Richmond,  but  hastened  to  Washington 
to  facilitate  the  disbandment.  During  the  last  weeks  of 
April  and  the  first  of  May  were  witnessed  many  imposing 
scenes,  — the  returning  soldiers  undergoing  their  List 
reviews  before  leaving  for  their  distant  homes  to  be  mus- 
tered out  of  the  service,  and  to  resume  their  duties  as 
citizens.  Such  an  imposing  sight  was  never  before  seen  of 
armies  so  large,  the  soldiers  of  which  had  so  intelligent  a 
view  of  the  great  principles  for  the  establishment  of  which 
ST  had  freely  risked  their  lives  in  the  perils  of  battle. 
They  were  greeted  by  ovations  all  along  their  route,  and 
welcomed  home  as  the  saviors  of  the  Union — that  heir- 
loom handed  down  from  the  fathers.  Yet.  also,  how  sad 
the  occasion : amid  the  joy  many  an  eye  filled  with  tears 
and  breast  heaved  with  sorrow  for  the  numbers  who  went 
at  their  country’s  call  but  who  had  laid  down  their  lives 
on  distant  battle-fields.  Many  a regiment  with  its  full 
complement  of  men  which  had  set  out  inspired  with  hope 
and  patriotism,  came  back  with  its  banners  draggled  and  bat- 
tered by  hostile  balls,  and  perhaps  with  not  more  than  one- 
fourth  of  its  original  number. 

The  following  is  a record  copied  from  the  lists  at  the 
War  Office,  at  Washington,  of  the  killed  and  wounded  on 
the  Union  side  during:  the  Rebellion  : 


Killed. 35.40? 

Died  of  wound? 49.305 

W ounded 4< 10.955 


- Sherman's  Memoirs.  VoL  LL.  p.  336-7. 


BLOCKADE  RAISED — AMNESTY  PROCLAMATION. 


1029 


There  has  not  been  kept  a perfect  roll  or  list  of  the 
Confederate  killed  and  wounded,  hut  the  number  is  esti- 
mated at  very  nearly  the  same. 

The  nation  incurred  a debt  of  nearly  three  thousand 
million  dollars,  which  has  been  so  far  paid  as  to  amount 
now  to  about  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
millions ; the  nation  having  paid  of  its  debt  about  eight 
hundred  and  seventy  millions  in  ten  years. 

The  Government,  as  so-on  as  it  was  proper,  raised  the 
blockade  of  the  Southern  ports  and  reduced  both  the  army 
and  navy.  The  men  of  the  army,  in  a remarkably  short 
time,  returned  to  their  homes  and  families,  and  entered 
upon  their  civil  duties  with  the  self-respect  natural  to  those 
who  honestly  have  performed  services  in  defense  of  their 
common  country.  The  immense  number  of  ships,  now  no 
longer  wanted  by  the  Government,  were  disposed  of  to  the 
highest  bidders  ; all  property  thus  useless  was  sold,  and  the 
proceeds  appropriated  to  paying  the  debt  incurred. 

Charleston  was  evacuated,  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
once  more  floated  over  the  city  of  nullification  and  seces- 
sion. The  heart  of  the  city  had  been  burned  during  the 
bombardment,  and  “ the  rebel  garrison,  when  leaving,  fired 
the  railroad  depots,  which  fire  had  spread,  and  was  only 
subdued  by  our  troops  after  they  had  reached  the  city.”1 
On  the  fourth  anniversary  of  the  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter 
the  veritable  flag — tattered  and  torn — which  floated  over 
“ that  fort  during  the  rebel  assault”  was  replaced  by  Major, 
now  Major-General,  Robert  Anderson  with  imposing  cere- 
monies, and  was  honored  by  a salute  of  one  hundred 
national  guns  “from  every  fort  and  rebel  battery  that  fired 
on  Fort  Sumter.”2 

President  Johnson  issued  an  amnesty  proclamation,  in 
which  pardon  was  offered  to  all  who  would  take  an  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  United  States,  except  certain  specified 
classes  who  had  held  offices  in  the  cause  of  the  rebellion. 


CHAP. 

LXY. 


1865. 


1875. 

Dec. 

1. 

1865. 


Feb. 

18. 


Apr. 

14. 


May 

29. 


1 Sherman’s  Memoirs,  Vol.  II.,  p.  269. 
Sherman’s  Memoirs,  Vol.  II.,  p.  230. 


1030 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICA^  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


I860. 


A\1£T. 

24T 


1864. 

June 

10. 


On  the  4th  of  July,  1868,  the  President  granted  pardon 
unconditionally  to  all  who  were  not  at  that  time  under 
indictment  for  treason,  and  finally,  December  25th,  he  ex- 
tended pardon  to  all  without  exception. 

A number  of  cruisers,  among  which  were  the  Alabama, 
Florida,  and  the  Georgia,  were  fitted  out  in  English  ship- 
yards to  prey  on  American  commerce,  under  the  flag  of  the 
so-cal  By — it  not  having  single  port  into 

which  they  could  enter.  These  vessels  were  more  or  less 
manned  by  English  seamen  under  Confederate  captains, 
and  into  whatever  port  they  entered  in  the  British  Empire 
they  were  welcomed,  furnished  supplies  and  armaments, 
and  permitted  to  make  repairs  if  needed,  and  also  to  enlist 
men  if  necessary.  Though  the  English  Government  had 
issued  a proclamation  against  the  reception  and  aiding 
these  vessels,  yet  it  was  a dead  letter ; neither  did  the  Gov- 
ernment itself  make  an  efficient  effort  to  enforce  the  law  or 
to  punish  those  who  violated  it.  The  Alabama  was  built 
expressly  for  this  purpose,  and  was  permitted  to  steam  out 
of  the  Mersey,  whence  she  went  to  the  Azores,  and  there, 
by  appointment,  received  her  full  armament  of  guns  and 
stores  sent  from  London.  Raphael  Semmes  there  took 
command,  with  a crew  of  26  officers  and  85  men.  mostly 
British  seamen.  She,  eluding  her  pursuers,  roamed  over 
the  ocean  for  two  years,  destroying  nearly  seventy  American 
vessels ; storeships  from  Liverpool,  by  arrangement,  fur- 
nishing her  from  time  to  time  with  war  material  and  pro- 
visions. At  length  she  appeared  at  Cherbourg  in  France, 
but  the  American  Minister  protested  so  strenuously  that 
the  French  Government  gave  her  permission  to  obtain  coal 
and  provisions,  but  not  to  use  the  national  navy-yard  in 
which  to  be  repaired.  Meanwhile,  Captain  John  A.  Wins- 
low, of  the  United  States  gunboat  Kearsarge — lying  in  a 
rt  of  Holland — learn  that  the  famous  bi  lis  r was  at 

Cherbourg,  and  he  immediately  steamed  out  and  soon 
appeared  off  that  harbor,  watching  for  the  cruiser  to  put  to 
sea.  Semmes,  finding  he  could  not  escape — as  the  Rear- 


russell’s  protest — louis  napoleon. 


1031 


sarge  was  a swifter  vessel  than  the  Alabama, — proclaimed 
that  he  intended  to  fight  his  adversary. 

The  Alabama  came  out  of  port  and  the  Rear  sage 
steamed  ahead  seven  miles,  to  get  beyond  French  juris- 
diction, and  so  far  that  the  Alabama  could  not  get  back 
to  the  neutral  line — three  miles  out — before  he  could  over- 
haul her.  At  the  right  time  the  Kearsage  turned  and 
made  for  her  antagonist,  running  at  half-speed  and  only 
firing  one  gun  for  her  two;  coming  within  close  range,  her 
guns  were  shotted  with  shells  of  five  seconds’  fuse.  The 
11-inch  shells  of  the  Kearsage  went  through  the  Alabama's 
starboard  and  burst  in  the  port  side,  and  between  decks, 
with  terrific  effect.  Five  English  trained  gunners  were 
put  on  board  the  Alabama  the  evening  before  the  action, 
but  they  seemed  to  lose  their  skill,  as  the  Kearsage  was 
scarcely  injured.  In  an  hour  and  ten  minutes’  time  the 
Alabama  was  sinking  beyond  recovery,  and  Semmes  hauled 
down  his  colors.  A friendly  English  yacht  was  near  and 
Captain  Winslow  asked  the  owner  to  aid  in  saving  the  crew 
of  the  sinking  ship.  Semmes  was  taken  on  board  the 
yacht  which  slipped  away  to  Southampton,  where  much 
sympathy  was  expressed  for  him  and  his  cause. 

Under  date  of  April  1,  1864,  Lord  John  Bussell,  in  a 
communication  to  Jefferson  Davis,  as  President  of  the 
“ so-called  Confederacy,”  protested  against  his  employing 
agents  in  England  to  obtain  Ci  vessels  for  war  purposes 
against  the  United  States.”  Had  this  protest  been  made 
three  years  before  it  might  have  been  of  benefit,  but  it  was 
now  too  late ; the  mischief  was  done,  and  the  United 
States  government  had  a record  of  all  the  vessels  destroyed 
by  these  English-built  cruisers,  and  in  due  time  would 
demand  payment  for  the  damage.  This  fact  the  English 
authorities  had  already  learned. 

Though  Louis  Napoleon  seems  to  have  been  desirous 
in  some  way  to  act  as  mediator  to  stop  the  ‘ ‘ fratricidal 
strife,”  and  was  thought  to  be  unfriendly  to  the  Union, 
because  it  was  a Republic,  yet  no  Frenchman,  as  far  as 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1864. 

June 

19. 


Apr, 

1. 


1032 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMEEICA2t  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LTV. 


Dec. 

ia 


1866. 

Apr. 

9. 


1844. 


1857. 


1866. 


1874. 


186-5. 
Mat  3. 


known,  endeavored  to  advance  his  pecnniary  interest  by 
running  the  blockade,  and  thus  aiding  the  enemies  of  the 
Union  by  furnishing  them  the  munitions  of  war. 

The  slavery  question  came  up  again,  and  Congress  pro- 
posed an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  (Article  XIIL), 
by  which  slavery  was  to  be  forever  abolished  throughout 
the  Union.  This  was  ratified  by  the  States — three-fourths 

: he  number  voting  for  its  adoption — and  became  a por- 
tion of  the  organic  law  of  the  land.  In  order  to  protect 
the  Freedmen  in  their  new  position  the  Civil  Bights  Bill 
was  passed  over  President  Johnson's  veto. 

This  year  a lawless  attempt  was  made  by  a society  known 
as  Fenians  who  wished  to  free  Ireland  from  British  sway  by 
invading  Canada.  They  were  driven  back  after  some  skir- 
mishing. The  President  issued  a proclamation  denouncing 
the  enterprise  as  a violation  of  neutrality,  and  cautioning 
all  engaged  in  it  to  desist.  General  Meade,  who  was  sent 
to  the  frontier,  soon  put  an  end  to  the  movement. 

Professor  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  a native  of  Massachu- 
setts, then  a resident  of  New  York  City,  in  whose  univer- 
sity his  experiments  were  first  made,  gave  to  the  world  the 
electric  telegraph.  It  is  vain  to  conjecture  the  full  benefit 
that  will  accrue  to  the  human  family  from  this  invention. 
May  it  be  a harbinger  of  peace,  a link  to  unite  the  nations 
in  a common  union  of  friendship  ! The  first  attempt  to 
lay  a cable  across  the  Atlantic  ocean  succeeded,  but  for 
some  unknown  cause  it  ceased  to  act  after  a few  sentences 
were  transmitted.  Xine  years  afterward  another  cable  was 
laid,  the  enterprise  owing  its  success  to  the  energy  of  Cyrus 
W.  Field,  of  Xew  York  City.  Other  lines  have  been  laid 
connecting  Europe  with  the  United  States,  while  others 
have  united  us  with  our  southern  neighbors.  End- 

ings have  been  made  from  San  Francisco  to  Japan,  across 
the  Pacific,  and  a route  on  the  bed  of  that  ocean  found 
feasible  for  laving  a cable. 

Congress  passed  a bill  instructing  the  Director  oi 
the  Mint  to  place  the  motto  **  Lx  God  we  Tutst”  upon 


RESTORATION — RECONSTRUCTION. 


1033 


all  coins  issued  whose  size  would  admit  the  words — an 
appropriate  motto  for  a Christian  Nation. 

The  reconstruction  of  the  Union — by  which  the  seced- 
ing States  were  to  be  received  back — was  a most  difficult 
question  to  settle  ; Congress  and  the  President  held  almost 
opposite  opinions  on  the  subject. 

Two  words  were  used — Restoration  and  Reconstruc- 
tion ; these  differed  widely  in  their  meanings.  The  first 
expressed  the  President’s  “ policy,”  as  he  termed  it ; that 
was  to  receive  the  recently  rebellious  States  back  into  the 
Union  just  as  they  had  been  before  the  war,  taking  no 
note  of  the  relation  now  held  to  the  General  Govern- 
ment, and  to  the  whole  Nation,  by  those  who  were  once 
slaves,  but  now  free  men,  and  as  such  citizens.  The  con- 
ditions which  the  President  required  were  that  the  people 
of  these  States  should  acquiesce  in  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
repudiate  the  rebel  debt,  and  repeal  the  ordinances  of 
secession.  Reconstruction  meant  the  readmission  of  the 
lately  rebellious  States,  with  constitutional  guarantees 
given  by  them,  that  the  freedmen  and  their  children 
should  be  recognized  and  treated  as  citizens. 

The  second  session  of  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress 

ts  cj  o } 

according  to  law,  came  to  a close  March  3d,  1865,  and  the 
Thirty-ninth  would  not  assemble  till  December  4th. 
Meanwhile,  in  furtherance  of  his  “ policy”  of  restora- 
tion, the  President  appointed  provisional  governors  over 
certain  States  recently  in  rebellion  ; to  these  officials  he 
gave  special  instructions.  From  May  29th  to  July  13th 
he  appointed  seven  governors  to  as  many  States.  He 
directed  them  to  have  the  people  send  delegates  to  con- 
ventions, which  should  repeal  the  ordinances  of  secession, 
acquiesce  in  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  repudiate  the 
debt  of  the  late  “pretended  Confederacy.”  If  compli- 
ance was  made  with  these  conditions  they  were  given  to 


CHAP. 

LXV. 

1865. 


1084 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


• CHAP,  understand  that  at  the  next  session  of  Congress  their 

1 representatives  would  be  admitted  to  the  councils  of 

I860,  the  Nation.  This  was  an  assumption  on  the  part  of  the 
President.  He  had  no  authority  as  the  executive  to  re- 
store these  States ; that  power  belonged  to  the  legislative 
branch  of  the  Government,  and  as  such  under  the  Consti- 
tution this  branch  had  always  exercised  that  authority  in 
admitting  States.  The  undue  haste  in  which  the  Presi- 
dent pressed  his  “ policy’’  of  restoration,  and  the  lack  of 
courtesy  shown  the  legislative  branch  of  the  Government, 
created  alarm  in  the  minds  of  the  intelligent  loyal  men  of 
the  Nation.  If  the  President  deemed  the  readmission  of 
these  States  so  very  urgent,  why  did  he  not  call  an  extra 
session  of  Congress  ? 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  each  instance  of  the  death  of 
the  three  Presidents  who  died  while  in  office,  the  Vice- 
Presidents  succeeding  them  in  a singular  manner  changed 
their  views  in  relation  to  the  principles  of  the  party  which 
had  elected  them,  and  instead  sympathized  more  or  less 
with  the  opposing  political  organization.1  The  three 
Presidents  who  died  in  office  were  in  principle  of  the 
same  political  ’ party ; for  in  reality  we  have  had  only 
two  prominent  parties  in  our  political  history,  and  these 
virtually  preserved  their  own  affiliations.  The  one  in  its 
principles  descended  under  two  different  names — Whig 
and  Republican — from  that  grand  organization,  the  Fed- 
eral, whose  ideas  of  government  were  comprehensive  and 
whose  aims  were  national,  and  which  under  Washington 
established  the  Government  and  inaugurated  our  present 
policy  of  neutrality  in  respect  to  wars  between  foreign 
nations  ; the  other — the  Democratic — took  its  rise  in 
opposition,  especially  to  that  policy,  and  without  change 
of  name 2 has  come  down  to  our  own  time,  meanwhile 

1 Hist.,  p.  737.  2 Hist.,  p.  5S3. 


| — 


TREASONS'  MADE  ODIOUS. 


1035 


having  its  influence  and  share  in  moulding  the  destinies 
of  the  nation. 

Andrew  Johnson  was  a most  violent  denouncer  of  the 
principle  of  secession  and  of  “ unrepentant  rebels.’’  He 
was  specially  severe  on  treason , proclaiming  he  “ would 
make  it  odious.”  This  announcement  was  made  within 
a short  time  after  he  became  President.  Yet,  during  the 
recess  of  Congress,  his  administration  of  affairs  connected 
with  “ restoration”  was  calculated,  if  not  intended,  to 
give  those  recently  in  rebellion  every  facility  to  carry  out 
their  plans.  He  also  announced  himself  about  the  same 
time  “ a Moses  to  lead  the  colored  people  to  freedom,” 
but  every  bill  adopted  to  aid  them,  or  secure  their  rights 
as  citizens,  had  to  be  passed  over  his  veto — The  Civil 
Rights  Bill,  The  Freedmen’s  and  Refugees  Bill.  The 
latter  proposed  to  aid  the  “ whites”  who  had  been  ren- 
dered destitute  by  the  rebellion,  as  well  as  the  freedmen. 
This  bureau  was  of  great  advantage  to  both  these  classes, 
and  being  temporary  in  its  operations,  it  was  repealed  as 
soon  as  the  end  was  attained  of  putting  these  unfortunate 
people  in  the  way  of  supporting  themselves. 

In  accordance  with  the  instructions  of  the  President, 
the  delegates  were  elected,  and  in  due  time  assembled 
in  conventions,  and  by  vote  complied  with  the  three 
requirements  already  mentioned.  The  legislatures  and 
Congressmen  were  as  promptly  elected ; the  former 
speedily  meeting  in  session,  chose  United  States  senators, 
and  nearly  all  were  ready  to  enter  upon  their  duties  as 
participators  in  the  national  councils  on  the  opening  of 
the  flrst  session  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress. 

According  to  the  law  hitherto  in  force  in  those  States, 
“ These  conventions  had  no  power  either  to  adopt  a new 
constitution  or  to  amend  an  old  one  without  the  consent 


CHAP. 

LXY. 


1866. 


July 

16. 


1865, 
Dec.  4. 


1036 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP,  of  tlie  people.*'  The  latter  had  not  been  invited  to  vote  on 

HII th(  were  the  writs  issued  in  a legal  form  for  the 

1865.  election  of  the  Legislatures  and  the  Congressmen.  The 
latter  gentlemen,  in  order  to  enter  upon  their  duties  as 
national  legislators,  were  willing  to  waive  these  trilling 
legal  technicalities. 

Another  feature  was  quite  remarkable.  In  the  elec- 
tions for  representatives  in  the  House  as  well  as  senators 
chosen,  those  who  had  been  Union  men,  or  loyal  to  the 
Government  were  rejected,  and  none  but  those  who  had 
been  aiding  or  in  sympathy  with  the  rebellion  were  elect- 
ed. .Numbers  could  not  take  the  prescribed  oath  ; many 
were  unpardoned,  and  did  not  conceal  their  hostility  to 
the  Union.  These  sentiments  seemed  to  simple  minds  to 
indicate  that  these  would-be  legislators  had  only  made  a 
change  of  base. 

Several  of  the  conventions  in  these  States  deprecated 
Congress  making  enactments  in  respect  to  the  political 
condition  of  the  freedmen.  The  coincidence  is  marked. 
1865,  President  Johnson  says  in  liis  first  annual  message  to 
Dec. 4.  Congress:  **  In  my  judgment,  the  freedmen.  if  they 
show  patience  and  manly  virtues,  will  sooner  obtain  a 
participation  in  the  elective  franchise  through  the  States 
than  through  the  General  Government again : **  It  is 
not  competent  for  Congress  to  extend  the  elective  fran- 
chise in  the  several  States." 


Meanwhile  the  Legislatures,  which  had  been  reeentlv 
elected,  entered  upon  their  dnties.  and  enacted  laws 
adapted  to  the  new  order  of  things.  It  is  verv  strange 
1866.  they  displayed  so  little  prudence:  yet  that  fact  gives  a 
clearer  manifestation  of  the  animating  spirit  of  which 
they  seem  to  have  been  unconscious.  The  negro  now 
being  a freedman.  they  hastened  to  make  laws  in  order  to 


THE  LOYALTY  OF  THE  SLAVES. 


1037 


utilize  him.  They  were  anxious  to  secure  his  labor,  but 
upon  their  own  terms ; imposing  conditions  in  respect  to 
contracts,  by  laws  which  could  be  so  construed  as  to  bear 
hard  upon  the  freedman,  without  affording  corresponding 
facilities  for  him  to  obtain  redress  for  injury  or  pay  for 
his  labor.  These  law-givers  professed  to  be  anxious  lest 
the  freed  men  should  become  paupers ; yet  they,  when 
slaves,  of  their  own  accord,  for  three  or  four  years  during 
the  war  had  raised  the  crops  and  supported  themselves 
and  the  families  of  their  masters,  while  the  latter  were  in 
the  Confederate  army.  History  records  no  instance  of 
such  disinterested  loyalty ; though  they  had  heard  of  the 
proclamation  of  their  freedom,  yet  they  protected  the  de- 
fenceless women  and  children  and  committed  no  out- 
rages ; 1 this  was  a boon  beyond  price  to  their  nominal 
owners.  The  moment  the  latter  had  the  opportunity  they 
repaid  this  kindness  and  loyalty  by  enacting  laws  that 
could  be  so  interpreted  as  to  hold  these  freedmen  and 
their  children  in  a modified  form  of  slavery  and  ignorance 
forever. 

A brief  summary  of  the  salient  points  in  the  laws 
relating  to  freedmen,  thus  enacted  in  ten  of  the  former 
rebellious  States,  may  illustrate  their  spirit.  These  laws, 
however,  became  an  occasion  of  good,  for  they  compelled 
Congress,  as  a matter  of  justice  and  humanity,  to  secure 
in  some  permanent  form  the  rights  of  the  freedmen  as 
citizens. 

In  accordance  with  these  enactments  the  colored  people 
were  “ eligible  as  witnesses,”  “ where  the  rights  of  per- 
sons or  property  of  persons  of  color  shall  be  put  in  issue.” 
“ In  all  other  civil  and  criminal  cases  such  evidence  shall 
be  deemed  inadmissable  unless  by  consent  of  the  parties 

1 Testimony  of  Senator  Gordon  of  Georgia,  vol.  vi.  p.  384.  Report  of 
Joint  Committee  on  utrages. 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1866. 


1038 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXY. 


1866. 


Jan. 

24 


of  record/’  Under  tlie  term  “vagrant” — which  was 
given  a very  liberal  interpretation — young  colored  per- 
sons could  be  seized  and  bound  by  indenture  or  appren- 
ticed— the  male  to  the  age  of  twenty-one,  the  female  to 
eighteen , if  their  parents  could  not  support  them,  or  if 
they  were  out  of  employment.  These  conditions  seem 
to  have  been  decided  by  the  magistrates  alone.  The 
wishes  of  parents  were  apparentlv  seldom  recognized  ; 
but  iu  securing  these  indentured  servants  the  former 
owners , under  certain  conditions,  had  the  preference.  By 
State — Louisiana — rhe  first  ten  dags  in  each 
January  were  set  apart  for  making  contracts  with  the 
f reedmen  for  the  year.  If  the  latter  engaged  he  was  held 
for  the  year,  virtually  without  redress  for  wrong  done 
him.  If  injuries  happened  to  the  animals  or  accidents  to 
the  implements  he  used,  he  was  held  responsible,  or.  in 
other  words,  he  was  charged  with  the  **  wear  and  tear”  of 
the  plantation.  Several  of  these  Legislatures  forbade  by 
law  colored  men  “ to  keep  lire-arms  of  any  kind  ” — the 
penalty  usually  being  a fine  twice  the  value  of  the  fire- 
arm— and  if  the  fine  was  not  immediately  paid,  the  de- 
linquent was  made  to  suffer. 

Under  the  interpretation  of  the  term  **  vagrant”  the 
poor  colored  people — male  and  female — had  scarcely  any 
redress.  Gen.  A.  H.  Terry,  when  in  command,  found 
it  necessary  by  order  to  forbid  the  enforcement  of  the 
laws  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  in  relation  to  “ vagrants.” 
The  reason  given  : “ wrongful  combinations  of  employers 
l\£ve  been  entered  into  for  the  purpose  of  depress- 
ing the  wages  of  freed  men  below  the  real  value  of 
their  labor.”  In  the  State  of  Mississippi  the  law  did  not 
“ allow  any  freedman,  free  negro,  or  mulatto  to  rent  or 
lease  any  lands  or  tenements,  except  in  incorporated 
towns  and  cities,  in  which  places  the  corporate  authori- 
ties shall  control  the  same.”  A law  of  South  Carolina 


SPIRIT  OF  THE  RULING  CLASSES. 


1039 


“ provided  that  no  person  of  color  shall  pursue  or  practise 
the  art,  trade,  or  business  of  an  artisan,  mechanic,  or  shop- 
keeper, employment  or  business  on  his  own  account,  and 
for  his  own  benefit,  without  a license.”  The  latter  ranged 
in  price  from  ten  dollars  to  one  hundred.  No  such  license 
was  required. of  a white  man.  A poll-tax  of  one  dollar  was 
levied  on  colored  men  over  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and 
of  fifty  cents  on  colored  females  over  eighteen.  White 
females  were  not  thus  taxed.  This  code  of  South  Caro- 
lina Gen.  Daniel  E.  Sickles,  when  in  command,  uncere- 
moniously blotted  out  by  a special  order ; 1 and  Pro- 
visional Governor  Perry  felt  constrained  to  dissolve  the 
convention  of  the  same  State  as  a “ revolutionary  body,” 
even  when  assembled  under  the  “ Instructions.” 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  effect  of  this  legislation 
would  be  to  hold  the  freedmen  and  their  posterity  in  a 
state  very  little  above  that  of  the  old  system  of  slavery. 
They  were  nominally  free  men,  but  could  have  no  oppor- 
tunity of  effectually  defending  themselves  or  their  chil- 
dren under  such  laws  from  being  ignorant  serfs.  These 
laws  appear  to  have  been  enacted  in  the  expectation  that 
the  President’s  plan  of  restoration  would  be  adopted,  as 
they  were  all  passed  within  six  months.  They  reflected 
the  animus  of  the  ruling  classes  in  the  lately  insurgent 
States,  and  disclosed  a reason  for  the  non-adoption  of  the 
President’s  theory  of  restoration.  Had  these  Legislatures 
passed  liberal  laws  in  respect  to  the  freedmen,  treated 
them  kindly,  and  endeavored  to  give  them  a chance  to 
succeed  in  their  new  relation  as  citizens  of  their  seA^eral 
communities,  and  of  the  whole  Union,  it  is  more  than 
probable  the  President’s  unauthorized  action  would  have 
been  overlooked  to  a great  extent,  and  perhaps  in  a modi- 
fied form  adopted.  At  the  time  there  was  an  unusual 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1866. 


Jan. 

17. 


1865, 
Nov. 

22, 

to 

1866, 
May 
25. 


Condensed  from  McPherson’s  Handbook  of  Politics,  pp.  29-44. 


1040 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1866. 


feeling  of  good  will  abroad  among  the  people  of  the  loyal 
States  toward  those  who  had  been  misguided  or  forced 
into  the  rebellion,  and  they  were  willing  to  make  many 
concessions,  hoping,  meanwhile,  the  poor  freedmen  would 
now  be  permitted  to  have  brighter  prospects  for  them- 
selves and  their  children.  But  the  spirit  of  these  laws 
changed  the  entire  aspect  of  the  issue.  This  leniency 
of  the  loyal  people  has  attracted  the  attention  of  for- 
eign writers.  Says  one,  “ The  North,  singularly  merciful 
in  her  use  of  victory,  indicted  no  penalty  on  those  whom 
she  had  defeated/’ 1 


In  respect  to  the  action  of  the  President,  it  was 
argued  he  had  no  power  except  under  the  laws  as  chief 
Executive.  These  laws  gave  him  as  commander-in-chief 
of  the  army  no  authority  over  the  organization  of  terri- 
tories nor  of  these  recently  rebellious  States.  It  was  sim- 
ply his  duty  to  restore  order,  to  protect  the  people  against 
violence  until  provision  should  be  made  by  Congress  for 
their  government.  These  States  were  still  under  martial 
law,  and  the  provisional  governors  could  exercise  military 
authority  merely  to  preserve  order.  The  President  as 
the  chief  military  authority  could  only  depute  similar 
authority  to  his  subordinates.  He  might  “recognize  the 
people  of  any  State  as  having  resumed  the  relations  of 
loyalty  to  the  Union,”  and  on  that  supposition  act  in  his 
military  capacity.  This  was  far  diderent  from  taking 
initiative  measures  to  restore  States  which  had  been  in 
rebellion,  and  were  still  under  martial  law,  “ to  all  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  Union.”  The  latter  “ pro- 
cess” would  be  an  encroachment  upon  a co-ordinate 
branch  of  the  Government.  Under  the  Constitution 
Congress  itself  alone  has  the  authority  to  secure  to  each 
State  of  the  Union  a “republican  form  of  government.” 


1 Mackenzie’s  Hist,  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  p.  77. 


MORAL  SUPPORT — ABSTRACT  THEORIES. 


1041 


This  duty  cannot  be  assigned  to  the  W ar  Department ; 
hence  military  governors  could  not  establish  State  gov- 
ernments. Congress,  as  a rule,  authorized  by  an  “ en- 
abling act  ” territories  to  form  constitutions  and  apply  for 
admission  into  the  Union,  and  if  the  conditions  are  com- 
plied with  they  are  received  as  States. 

On  the  other  hand  it  was  argued  that  these  States, 
after  they  had  repealed  the  ordinances  of  secession,  were 
back  in  the  Union  just  as  they  were  before  the  tiring  on 
Sumter ; 1 then  again  that  these  ordinances  in  the  first 
instance  were  null  and  void,  and  therefore  during  the 
conflicts  of  the  last  four  years  they  were  really  in  the 
Union,  but  in  an  insurrectionary  state,  and  when  order 
was  restored  their  State  sovereignty  was  interfered  with 
in  their  not  being  as  such  recognized. 

In  this  controversy,  which  lasted  for  two  years,  the 
framers  of  the  laws  quoted  had  the  moral  support  of  those 
in  the  North  who  had  not  been  specially  anxious  that  the 
loyal  portion  of  the  people  should  bring  the  disloyal  into 
obedience  to  the  Government.  This  influence  encouraged 
the  original  disunionists  during  the  late  rebellion,  and 
after  its  close,  to  resist  reconstruction  except  in  the  form 
of  restoration,  that  would  leave  the  freedmen  at  their 
mercy,  and  thus  retard  the  progress  of  the  country  for  an 
indefinite  period. 

The  question  in  respect  to  the  future  condition  of  the 
freedmen  was  far  more  important  than  abstract  theories 
as  to  whether  or  not  the  rebellious  States  were  in  the 
Union  as  soon  as  their  last  army  surrendered.  It  was 
evident  from  the  spirit  of  the  laws  referred  to,  and  the 
tone  of  popular  feeling  which  dictated  them,  the  design 

1 Majority  and  Minority  Reports  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  Recon- 
struction, Handbook  of  Politics,  pp.  84-104. 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1866 

and 

1867. 


iu42 


HISTOBT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  was  to  hold  the  colored  race  in  a sort  of  peonage.  Under 

j \ \-  1 c 

1 the  slave  code  it  was  enal  offence  : teach  them 

1.867.  reaJ  and  write ; this  law  was  blotted  ont.  but  still  the 
prospect  of  improvement  derived  from  schools  under  the 
conditions  was  almost  hopeless.  "Were  these  four  mil- 
lion of  the  negro  race  to  be  left  subject  to  the  unjust 
laws  of  their  recent  nominal  owners  ( They  would  now 
be  reckoned  citizens  of  the  Union,  and  as  such  repre- 
sented in  the  national  councils,  but  would  have  no  voice 
in  the  selection  of  their  own  representatives.  This  would 
be  even  more  unjust  to  the  people  of  the  whole  Xatiou 
than  the  former  arrangement  of  representation  under  the 
system  of  slavery.  This  evil,  however,  was  trilling  when 
compared  with  an  infinitely  greater  one — that  of  keeping 
the  colored  race  in  a state  of  helpless  ignorance  and  vir- 
tual slavery.  U nder  snc-h  depressing  influences  they  must 
become  necessarily  a hindrance  to  material  progress,  and 
thus  affect  the  interests  of  the  whole  Nation ; and  in  pro- 
portion as  their  numbers  increased  would  increase  these 
difficulties.  This  is  an  economical  view  of  the  subject ; 
but  trne  statesmanship  takes  notice  of  both  moral  and  po- 
litical questions  as  influencing  the  future  of  communities. 

It  was  essential  for  the  harmonious  action  of  the  Gov- 
ernment that  the  laws  pertaining  to  suffrage  should  be 
uniform  throughout  the  Union.  The  remedy,  therefore, 
must  l>e  applied  in  such  manner  as  to  be  the  same  in 
effect  tiiroughont  the  whole  United  States.  It  became  a 
matter  of  expediency  as  well  as  an  alternative  to  give  the 
colored  race  the  ballot,  that  they  might  have  the  means 
thus  far  to  protect  themselves  from  unfriendly  legisla- 
tion. theform  in  which  their  individual  rights  had  just 
been  assailed.  The  freedman  was  an  illiterate — enforced 
to  lie  such — but  illiterate  whites  were  not  disfranchised  : 
for  the  time  he  was  ignorant — -perhaps  more  so  than  a 
majority  of  the  illiterate  whites. 


ENABLING  ACT — REGISTRATION. 


1043 


The  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  amendments  of  the  Con- 
stitution apply  to  all  the  States  of  the  Union.  If  the. 
State  of  New  York  should  by  an  act  of  her  people  de- 
prive her  German  or  Irish  population  of  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, she  could  be  legally  deprived  in  the  same  propor- 
tion of  her  representatives  in  Congress ; no  more,  no  less 
than  South  Carolina  could  be  if  she  denied  her  colored 
population  the  right  of  suffrage.  The  Constitution  is 
thus  designed  to  protect  all  classes  of  citizens,  for  it  reads 
(Fourteenth  amend.,  sec.  2) : “ When  the  right  to  vote  is 
denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  [a]  State, 
the  basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the 
proportion  which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall 
bear  to  the  whole  number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one 
years  of  age  in  such  State.” 

Congress  took  measures  to  reconstruct  the  Union  on 
principles  of  equity,  that  if  fully  carried  out  would 
secure  the  civil  rights  of  all  citizens.  They  first  passed 
(over  the  President’s  veto)  “ The  enabling  act  to  provide 
efficient  governments  for  the  insurrectionary  States.” 
Then  “ the  Registration  Act”  (based  on  the  “ Civil  Rights 
Bill  ”)  by  which  the  provisional  governors  were  directed 
in  their  several  States  to  order  a complete  registration  of 
all  the  male  citizens  over  twenty-one  years  of  age,  with- 
out reference  to  color  or  former  condition  of  life.  This 
registration  was  to  be  completed  by  September  1st,  be- 
fore the  election,  which  was  to  be  held  for  delegates  to 
conventions  to  form  State  constitutions.  Under  this 
il  act”  the  colored  men  were  recognized  as  citizens,  and, 
having  registered  soon  after  as  such,  for  the  first  time, 
voted. 

Why  may  not  reconstruction  on  principles  of  right 
and  justice,  be  noted  in  our  history  as  the  starting-point 
for  the  continuous  advancement  of  the  material  progress 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1868, 

1870. 


1867, 

Mar. 

23. 


Sept. 

1. 


1044 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHA.P. 

LXY. 


1867. 


of  the  Nation  ? It  was  then  that  the  Union  was  totally 
freed  from  the  inenbns  of  slavery  — only  its  debris 
of  ignorance  and  improvidence  remaining ; these  two 
evils  in  a generation  or  two  can  he  overcome.  The  col- 
ored people  in  their  sphere  as  laborers  are  essential  in 
the  South  to  furnish  their  share  in  the  more  perfect 
advancement  of  the  whole  country,  and  this  act  of  just- 
ice encourages  them  to  prepare  themselves  and  their 
children  to  fulfill  the  duties  of  their  station,  and  by 
education — intellectual  and  moral — and  by  industry,  make 
their  lives  successful.  The  reconstruction  measures  thus 
founded  on  justice  and  equity  are  comprehensive  in  their 
character,  and  in  the  end  must  have  a beneficial  influence 
upon  the  Xation. 

The  slaves  of  the  Roman  empire  were  originally  pris- 
oners of  war,  but  they  belonged  to  the  white  race,  and 
when  they  became  freedmen,  they  took  their  places  as 
citizens  on  an  equality  ; to  them  their  misfortunes  were 
not  attributed  as  a disqualification.  The  case  of  the 
negro  is  different  from  that  of  all  others  in  history ; 
never  before  had  a people  of  a different  origin — a race 
physically  so  distinct  and  placed  in  so  inferior  condition 
— with  the  depressing  influence  of  six  generations  of 
servitude,  been  made  citizens;  they  having  been  ex- 
cluded by  law,  as  far  as  possible,  from  the  benefits  of 
the  advancing  civilization  during  the  last  two  hundred 
years. 

Reconstruction  was  a result  of  the  humanizing  influ- 
ence of  Christianity  in  the  minds  of  the  loyal  portion  of 
the  American  people ; they  would  not  sanction  the  hold- 
ing of  the  freedmen  in  a condition  bordering  on  that  of 
their  former  bondage,  and  in  which  they  could  not  make 
available  the  means  of  elevating  themselves  and  their 
children. 


THE  IMPEACHMENT. 


1045 


In  due  time  the  seceded  States  adopted  the  requisite 
amendments,  and  were  readmitted  to  the  Union,  and 
their  senators  and  representatives  to  their  seats  in  Con- 
gress. The  last  to  come  in  were  the  States  of  North  and 
South  Carolina,  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Georgia,  Alabama, 
Texas,  and  Florida.  Some  of  these  had  been  unrepre- 
sented in  Congress  for  seven  years. 

Nebraska  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a State, 
making  the  thirty-seventh.  The  same  year  Alaska  was 
purchased  from  Russia  for  the  sum  of  $7,200,000  in  gold. 
This  immense  region  of  500,000  square  miles  is  chiefly 
valuable  for  its  fine  fisheries,  and  for  seal  skins,  the  most 
important  product,  and  also  for  its  harbors  on  the  Pacific 
coast. 

Congress  had  passed  a law  entitled  The  Tenure  of 
Office  Bill,  by  which  the  consent  of  the  Senate  was 
necessary  to  the  removal  from  office  of  any  officer  whose 
nomination  by  the  President  had  to  be  confirmed  by  that 
body.  The  President,  in  violation  of  this  law  and  during 
the  recess  of  Congress,  desired  to  remove  that  most  effi- 
cient officer  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War, 
from  his  position.  Great  political  excitement  grew  out 
of  these  proceedings,  which  resulted  in  the  impeachment 
of  the  President,  by  a resolution  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, “ for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.”  His 
trial  ended  in  his  acquittal,  as  a two  thirds  vote  of  the 
Senate  failed,  by  one  vote,  to  pronounce  him  guilty. 
This  is  the  only  instance  of  a President  of  the  United 
States  being  impeached. 

An  important  treaty  was  made  with  the  Chinese  Em- 
pire, by  which  religious  toleration  was  guaranteed  to  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  residing  in  China,  and  the  same 
privilege  was  extended  to  Chinese  residents  in  this  coun- 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1867. 


1046 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXY. 


1867. 


try.  This  treaty  was  followed  by  an  embassy  from  that 
empire  to  the  United  States,  which  it  is  hoped  will  have 
a most  favorable  influence  upon  the  policy  of  that  sc 
eluded  empire. 

In  the  election  for  President  the  Republican  party 
nominated  for  the  presidency  and  vice-presidency  Gen- 
eral U.  S.  Grant  of  Illinois,  and  Schuyler  Colfax  of  In- 
diana. and  the  Democratic  party,  Horatio  Seymour  of 
New  York,  and  General  Francis  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  of  Mis- 
souri. The  former  were  elected,  and  General  Grant  was 
inaugurated  President  4th  of  March,  1869. 


CHAP  TEE  LX  VI. 


grant’s  administrations. 

Pacific  Railway.— The  Fifteenth  Amendment. — Death  of  General  Lee. — 
State  Rights  Influence. — Alabama  Claims. — Fraudulent  Voting. — The 
Ku-Klux-Klan. — Enforcement  Act. — Signal  Service. — Fires. — Manu- 
factures; Iron;  Silk. — Railroad  Panic. — The  Bill  for  Resumption  of 
Specie  Payments.— New  Orleans  Riots. — The  Indian  Question. — Col- 
orado State. — Deaths. — Census  of  1870. — Centennial. — Presidential 
Election. — Greeley;  Sumner. — Influences  binding  the  Union. — Civil 
Service  Reform. — Platforms. — Electoral  Commission. 


When  Ulysses  S.  Grant  entered  upon  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent the  civil  war  had  been  concluded  about  four  years ; 
the  direful  effects  on  the  South  had  been  rapidly  disappear- 
ing; all  the  States,  by  means  of  reconstruction,  were  once 
more  under  the  old  flag,  and  the  nation  had  already  entered 
upon  a career  of  progress  untrammeled  by  the  incumbrance 
of  slavery  to  retard  advancement  and  to  serve  as  an  irritat- 
ing element,  as  it  had  been  for  two  generations.  The 
President  appointed  ex-Governor  Hamilton  Fish,  of  New 
York,  Secretary  of  State. 

During  this  year  the  Pacific  Railroad,  extending  from 
Omaha,  Neb. , to  San  Francisco,  1,913  miles,  was  finished; 
it  supplied  the  link  uniting  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans. 
This  was  a work  of  great  magnitude — entered  upon  in  time 
of  civil  war,  but  pressed  to  the  end  by  untiring  energy. 
The  United  States  aided  in  building  this  road  by  liberal 
grants  of  public  lands  and  otherwise. 

The  Fifteenth  Amendment,  which  reads,  “ The  right  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or 
abridged  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  on  account 
of  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude,”  was  adopted, 
and  became  the  law  of  the  land.  This  completed  the 


CHAP. 

LXV. 


1869. 

Mar. 

4. 


1870. 

Mar 

30. 


1048 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLB. 


CHAP. 
LX  VI. 


1870. 


1875. 


1870. 

Oct. 

12. 


amendments  to  the  Constitution  deemed  necessary  for  the 
protection  of  the  freedmen  in  their  new  relation  as  citizens. 
They  have  manifold  difficulties  to  overcome,  but  their  prog- 
ress in  industry  and  their  endeavor  to  educate  themselves 
and  their  children,  and  to  acquire  frugal  habits,  are  the 
cheering  features  in  their  case.  Too  much,  unfortunately, 
has  been  expected  of  them  as  citizens.  The  degradation  of 
their  previous  condition  has  not  produced  that  self-respect 
so  necessary  to  success  in  life,  and  it  will  take  time,  and 
both  moral  and  intellectual  improvement,  to  obliterate  the 
effects  of  such  an  influence.  A feeling  of  kindness  between 
the  former  masters  and  the  freedmen  is  increasing  from 
year  to  year,  and  as  the  industries  of  the  late  slaveholding 
States  increase  and  their  resources  develop,  the  latter,  as 
laborers  at  least,  will  doubtless  perform  their  share  in  this 
general  progress. 

“Vow,”  wrote  Vice-President  Wilson,  “the  colored 
race,  though  little  accustomed  to  habits  of  economy  and 
thrift,  possess  millions  of  property,  has  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  children  in  schools,  has  been  clothed  with  civil 
and  political  rights,  occupies  high  positions  at  home,  and 
has  representatives  in  Congress.” 

General  Robert  E.  Lee  died  October  12,  1870.  He  had 
won  for  himself  the  respect  of  the  people  of  the  loyal 
States,  aud  was  the  idol  of  those  of  his  own  section.  He 
was  a Christian  and  a gentleman  ; reserved  in  manner, 
but  of  the  kindliest  disposition.  He  was  opposed  to  the 
secession  leaders,  and  had  but  little  respect  for  their  states- 
manship ; looking  upon  them  as  mere  politicians.  He  be- 
lieved that  the  war  might  have  been  avoided  had  it  not  been 
for  extremists  in  both  sections.  Says  he,  “ I did  believe  at 
the  time  that  it  was  an  unnecessary  condition  of  affairs, 
and  might  have  been  avoided  if  forbearance  and  wisdom 
had  been  practiced  on  both  sides.”  He  wrote.  Jan.  6th. 
1861,  “1  cannot  anticipate  so  great  a calamity  to  the 
nation  as  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.”  When  the  war 
was  over  he  accepted  the  situation,  and  used  his  influence 


DEATH  OF  GENERAL  LEE — STATE  RIGHTS  INFLUENCE.  1049 


for  the  reconciliation  of  the  North  and  South.  He  was 
elected  president  of  Washington  College  in  his  native 
State,  in  which  important  and  useful  office  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  ; and  there  used  all  his  influence  to 
direct  the  young  men  to  become  Christians  and  good 
citizens,  and  true  lovers  of  the  ivhole  country.  A mother 
brought  her  two  sons  to  enter  the  college,  and  in  his 
presence  loudly  expressed  her  hatred  of  the  North  ; the 
dignified  president,  interrupting  her,  said,  “ Madam,  don’t 
bring  up  your  sons  to  detest  the  United  States  government. 
Recollect  that  we  form  but  one  country  noiv;  abandon  all 
these  local  animosities,  and  make  your  sons  Americans.”1 
He  foresaw  the  ruin  of  his  own  Virginia  in  case  of  a civil 
war,  and  it  was  through  agonies  of  spirit  that  he  decided 
to  go  with  her.  “ My  husband  has  wept  tears  of  blood,” 
Mrs.  Lee  wrote  to  a friend,  “ over  this  terrible  war  ; but  he 
must,  as  a man  and  a Virginian,  share  the  destiny  of  his 
State,  which  has  solemnly  pronounced  for  independence.”2 
H is  decision,  no  doubt,  was  owing;  to  the  unconscious 
influence  of  the  extreme  views  taken  of  the  doctrine  of 
State  Rights,  which  affected  the  minds  of  many  of  the 
Southern  statesmen  of  that  period  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
cramp  their  political  ideas.  Unlike  the  statesmen  of  former 
times,  they  were  so  much  engaged  in  plans  of  special  legis- 
lation for  “the  peculiar  institution,”  that  their  statesman- 
ship was  dwarfed ; in  consequence,  their  views  of  policy 
were  more  sectional  than  national  ; never  grasping  the 
whole  land  in  its  diversities  of  climate  and  manifold  indus- 
tries and  institutions.  Governments,  in  theory  at  least, 
have  been  formed  to  last  for  all  time,  and  these  leaders 
betrayed  their  want  of  true  statesmanship  when  in  their 
Constitution  they  embodied  the  doctrine  of  State  Sover- 
eignty to  such  an  extent  as  to  provide,  in  the  very  organi- 
zation of  their  government,  for  its  own  dissolution — the 
only  instance  known  to  history  of  such  inconsistency. 

During  the  rebellion  and  at  its  close  the  loyal  people  and 
Life  of  Lee,  p.  331.  2 Life  of  Lee,  p.  31. 


CHAP 

LXIV. 


1870. 


1050 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICANS'  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXYT. 


isro. 


18*1. 

Jan. 

26. 


May 

8. 


Congress  felt  keenly  indignant  that  the  English  rulers 
should  have  given  aid  to  the  Confederates  and  manifested  so 
much  sympathy  for  their  cause.  “ We  charged  and  believed 
that  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies  had  been  the  arsenal, 
the  navy-yard,  and  the  treasury  of  the  Confederacy.”  But 
“with  generous  forbearance”  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment chose  to  obtain  redress  by  negotiation,  and  a treaty 
was  made,  the  Earl  of  Clarendon  acting  on  the  part  of  the 
English  Government  and  Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson,  an  emi- 
nent lawyer,  acting  on  the  part  of  the  United  States. 
Senator  Charles  Sumner  made  a scathing  analysis  of  this 
treaty  when  it  came  before  the  Senate  for  ratification,  and 
it  was  rejected.  His  argument  and  the  rejection  irritated 
the  English  people  exceedingly ; but  time  and  reflection 
revealed  to  them  that  Sumner’s  statements  were  so  clear 
and  so  true  that  the  United  States  had  just  reason  to  com- 
plain of  England’s  lack  of  good  faith  as  a neutral,  and  they 
began  to  regret  sincerely  there  should  be  differences  of  an 
unfriendly  character  between  the  two  nations  of  all  others 
so  nearly  related,  which  feeling  came  now  to  be  reciprocated 
by  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

General  Grant,  soon  after  the  rejection  of  the  treaty,  be- 
came President,  and  he  recommended  to  Congress  to 
appoint  a commission  to  audit  the  claims  of  American  citi- 
zens on  Great  Britain  for  losses  by  Confederate  cruisers 
permitted  to  leave  English  ports  to  prey  on  American  com- 
merce, in  order  to  have  them  assumed  by  the  government 
itself.  Soon  after  this  the  English  government  proposed  to 
that  of  the  United  States  a joint  High  Commission,  to  hold 
its  sessions  at  Washington,  to  settle  some  questions  in 
respect  to  boundaries  between  the  two  countries.  The 
President  consented  on  condition  that  the  Alabama  claims, 
so-called,  should  also  be  considered.  This  led  to  the  second 
treaty  of  Washington  (the  first  in  1842). 1 Five  Commis- 
sioners were  sent  by  the  British  Government,  men  of  emi- 
nence, who  met  the  same  number,  of  equal  character, 

3 Hist.,  pp.  739-741. 


ENGLISH  CRUISERS — TREATY  OF  WASHINGTON. 


1051 


appointed  by  the  President.  This  treaty,  from  the  prin- 
ciples involved  in  its  action,  is  a noble  example  of 
nations  settling  their  controversies  by  negotiation,  and  the 
arbitration  of  justice  and  reason,  rather  than  by  the  barbar- 
ous arbitrament  of  the  sword.  The  Commissioners  made 
their  work  complete.  By  authority  of  the  Queen  the  Brit- 
ish negotiators  expressed  ‘‘in  a friendly  spirit  the  regret 
felt  by  Her  Majesty’s  Government  for  the  escape,  under 
whatever  circumstances,  of  the  Alabama  and  other  vessels” 
— there  were  eighteen,  including  tenders — from  British  ports 
and  for  depredations  committed  by  them. 

There  were  in  all  five  different  subjects  of  controversy 
between  the  two  nations,  and  the  treaty  arranged  that  these 
should  be  submitted  to  disinterested  arbitrators  whose 
award  both  nations  were  bound  by  agreement  to  accept  as 
final.  The  points  at  issue  were  the  claims  of  American 
citizens  against  Great  Britain  for  damages  sustained  by 
cruisers  fitted  out  in  British  ports  to  aid  the  Confederates 
in  making  war  against  the  United  States,  and  all  claims 
of  the  citizens  of  either  Government  for  injuries  received 
during  the  civil  war  ; also  for  the  regulation  of  the  Atlantic 
coast  fisheries  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  British 
provinces  touching  on  the  Atlantic  and  its  estuaries ; and 
for  the  free  navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  certain 
canals  in  the  Canadian  Dominion  ; and  in  the  United 
States  for  the  free  navigation  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  also 
for  reciprocal  free  transit  across  the  territory  either  of  the 
United  States  or  of  the  Canadian  Dominion  : and,  finally, 
the  true  boundary  between  Washington  Territory  and  Brit- 
ish Columbia,  which  had  been  postponed  to  a future  time 
by  Daniel  Webster  and  Lord  Ashburton  when  they  nego- 
tiated the  first  treaty  of  Washington. 

As  long  as  Lord  John  Russell,  through  whose  negli- 
gence the  Alabama  and  other  vessels  were  permitted  to 
escape,  had  charge  of  the  foreign  affairs  of  Great  Britain 
no  redress  could  be  obtained.  Though  admitting  the 
wrong,  he  stubbornly  refused  to  make  any  concession,  on 


CHAP. 
LX  VI. 


1871. 


July 

4. 


1052 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXVI. 


1871. 


1872. 

June 

15. 


Sept. 

14 


the  ground  that  the  “honor  of  England  would  not  permit 
her  to  make  any  reparation  to  the  United  States.’5 

All  these  claims  and  questions  of  differences,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  treaty  of  Washington,  were  to  be  referred  to 
a tribunal  of  five  arbitrators,  appointed  in  the  following 
manner  : namely,  one  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  one  by  the  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom,  with  requests 
to  the  King  of  Italy,  the  President  of  the  Swiss  Confedera- 
tion, and  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  each  to  name  an  arbitrator. 

The  friendly  Powers,  as  requested,  designated  each  an 
arbitrator  of  eminent  abilities  and  learning.  The  Queen 
appointed  Sir  Alexander  Cockburn  arbitrator  and  President 
Grant,  Charles  Francis  Adams.  Each  party  employed  coun- 
sel: in  behalf  of  the  United  Kingdom  was  Sir  Roundell 
Palmer  aided  by  two  others,  and  in  behalf  of  the  United 
States  the  eminent  lawyers  William  M.  Evarts,  Caleb  Cush- 
ing, and  Morrison  R.  Waite — the  latter  now  Chief-Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

The  arbitrators,  in  accordance  with  this  arrangement, 
met  by  appointment  at  Geneva  in  Switzerland,  and  after  a 
laborious  session  in  examination  — first,  whether  Great 
Britain  failed  to  fulfill  the  duties  laid  down  in  the  treaty 
in  respect  to  preventing  vessels  leaving  English  ports  to 
enter  upon  a war  against  American  commerce  in  the  service 
of  the  so-called  Confederacy  : and,  secondly,  to  name  the 
award  which  was  to  be  in  the  gross,  and  paid  in  coin  twelve 
months  after  the  date  of  the  decision  ; the  United  States 
Government  was  to  examine  the  claims  of  its  own  citizens 
and  pay  them  out  of  the  award — the  decision  was  in  the 
following  terms  : “ The  tribunal,  making  use  of  the  authori- 
ty conferred  upon  it  by  Article  VII.  of  the  treaty  of  Wash- 
ington, by  a majority  of  four  voices  to  one  awards  to  the 
United  States  the  sum  of  $15,500,000  in  gold  as  the  indem- 
nity to  be  paid  by  Great  Britain  to  the  United  States,  for 
the  satisfaction  of  all  claims  referred  to  the  consideration  of 
the  tribunal.”1  The  money  has  been  paid,  and  at  this 
i Cushing  on  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  p.  280. 


FRAUDULENT  VOTING. 


1053 


writing  the  claims  are  adjusted  with  the  exception  of  a CHAP. 

~ ^ 1 IjXVT 

certain  class  of  those  presented  by  Insurance  Companies.  1 

1870. 

The  Representative  in  the  House  holds  a twofold  re- 
lation to  the  people  : he  represents,  specially,  his  own 
immediate  constituents,  who  have  elected  him,  and  also 
indirectly  the  whole  people  of  the  Union.  The  Congress- 
man from  Maine  and  his  fellow-member  from  Texas, 
have  equal  power  when  they  vote  on  public  affairs ; in 
consequence  of  this  feature,  the  whole  Nation  is  inter- 
ested in  the  selection  of  each  Member  of  Congress ; and 
the  entire  people,  in  self-protection,  have  a right  to  demand 
that  Congressmen  should  be  elected  by  the  legal  voters  of 
their  own  districts.  More  remotely  they  have  an  interest 
in  the  election  of  legislatures,  which  choose  United  States’ 
Senators ; and  in  a much  higher  degree  than  either  are 
their  interests  involved  in  the  choice  of  a President. 

After  the  Presidential  election  in  1868,  the  whole  1868. 
country  was  startled  by  the  revelation  that  stupendous 
frauds  had  been  committed  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
and  that  these  were  accomplished  by  issuing  forged  natu- 
ralization papers  on  which  illegal  votes  were  cast.  In 
New  York  as  well  as  in  other  large  cities  certain  classes 
furnish  great  facilities  for  committing  frauds  of  this 
character.  These  forged  papers  were  also  sent  to  the 
larger  towns  and  along  the  railways  of  the  State. 

The  statements  in  detail  of  these  facts  astounded  the 
thinking  minds  of  the  Nation.  Multitudes  upon  whom 
the  right  of  voting  had  been  graciously  conferred  or 
would  be  in  due  time,  had  been  induced  by  certain  lead- 
ers to  abuse  the  privilege  most  grossly  ! Urgent  appeals 
came  up  to  Congress  to  prevent  the  repetition  of  such 
frauds.  The  House  of  Representatives  appointed  a com- 
mittee of  seven  of  its  own  members  to  investigate  the 
subject,  and  with  power  to  summon  and  compel  wit- 
nesses. The  committee  found  that  in  the  month  of  Octo- 


1054 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXYI. 


1S70. 


3Iav 

31. 


ber  alone — the  election  was  to  take  place  on  the  third  of 
the  following  November — were  issued  in  the  City  of  New 
York.  57.217  naturalization  papers : of  these  18,314  had 
not  been  recorded  by  the  court,  but  were  discovered 
afterward.  Witnesses  stated  that  the  recipients  of  these 
papers  were  sworn  in  in  groups  of  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  eighty  at  a time.  Two  reports  were  made 
to  Congress,  the  majority  sustaining  the  charges,  and  the 
minority  admitting  that44 a considerable  number  of  cer- 
tificates of  naturalization  w s lined  by  fraud  and  per- 
jury/' 1 A bill  was  introduced  to  prevent  frauds  in  the 
election  of  United  States’  officers.  The  law  provided: 
44  In  towns  of  over  20,000  population  upon  the  written 
application  of  ten  citizens  the  judge  of  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court  shall,  ten  days  before  the  registration  or 
election,  appoint  two  citizens  for  each  election  district  of 
different  political  parties , who  shall  be  known  as  super- 
visors of  elections.’  *‘In  large  cities  the  United  States 
marshal  may  appoint  two  special  deputies  in  each  election 
district  to  assist  the  supervisors/'  These  officials  are  re- 
quired to  attend  both  the  registration  and  the  election,  in 
order  to  secure  complete  fairness. 

Though  the  war  was  ostensibly  at  an  end.  and  the 
insurrectionary  States  under  military  commanders  and 
provisional  governors,  appointed  by  President  Johnson, 
outrages  continued  to  the  end  of  hi>  administration  to  be 
committed  on  the  freedmen  and  Union  men — whites  na- 
tive born — and  upon  those  who  had  come  thither  for  the 
purpose  of  settling,  especially  if  the  latter  expressed 
opinions  disliked  by  these  gentlemen  or  sympathy  for  the 
freedmen  in  their  troubles.  The  abolition  of  slaverv. 
though  acquiesced  in.  was  exceedingly  distasteful  to  the 
same  classes,  as  well  as  the  Civil  Pights  Bill  by  which 
the  freedmen  were  protected  as  citizens.  To  neutralize 


1 Report  of  " Select  Committee  on  alleged  election  frauds  in  New  YorJ- 


THE  KU-KLUX  KLAN. 


1055 


tlie  effects  of  these  bills,  and  of  the  recent  amendments  to 
the  Constitution,  associations  were  secretly  formed  within 
a few  months  throughout  these  States.  They  were  pop- 
ularly known  by  the  name  they  gave  themselves  in  pub- 
lic, “The  Ku-Klux  Klan” — a barbarous  name — com- 
prising the  whole  class,  though  in  some  sections  different 
designations  were  used,  such  as  the  “ White-Leaguers,” 
“ Knights  of  the  White  Camelia,”  etc.,  but  the  official 
name  in  the  secret  record  was  “ The  Invisible  Empire.” 
These  lawdess  bands  were  in  active  operation  during  the 
administration  of  the  President’s  provisional  governors, 
and  before  the  State  governments  organized  by  the  au- 
thority of  Congress  went  into  operation  under  the  “ Re- 
construction Acts.” 1 

The  Fourteenth  Amendment  having  been  proclaimed 
ratified,  and  the  Fifteenth  submitted  to  the  State  Legisla- 
tures with  every  prospect  of  being  adopted,  these  facts 
roused  a determination  on  the  part  of  the  Ku-Klux  to 
prevent  the  principles  of  these  two  amendments  being 
applied  in  the  case  of  freedinen  voting.  The  Ku-Klux 
bands  were  made  up  of  idle  young  men  belonging  to 
the  best  families.  They  disguised  themselves  and  their 
horses  by  means  of  frightful  looking  costumes,  scoured 
the  country  by  night,  whipping  and  otherwise  maltreat- 
ing the  negroes  and  white  Union  men.  Assassinations 
of  the  most  atrocious  character  were  committed.  Colored 
women  were  frequently  barbarously  whipped  if  they  re- 
fused to  betray  the  hiding-place  of  their  friends,  and 
sometimes  were  even  hanged.  It  may  account  for  the 
little  resistance  the  Ku-Klux  met  that  they  had  previ- 
ously deprived  the  colored  men  of  their  arms. 

Nothing,  except  it  may  have  been  a school-house,  ex- 
cited the  rage  of  the  “ Ku-Klux”  so  much  as  a colored 
man  successful  in  his  business  by  being  industrious  and 


CHAP. 

LXVI. 


1870. 


1868, 

July. 


1 Hist.,  pp.  1033-1042. 


1056 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 
LX  VI. 

1870. 


saving,  and  especially  if  lie  learned  to  read  and  write. 
They  frequently  burnt  school-houses  built  and  owned  by 
the  freedmen.  and  maltreating  the  teachers,  drove  them  off. 
It  seems  incredible  that  such  crimes  should  be  committed 
and  apologized  for  in  a community  professing  to  be  under 
the  influence  of  a civilization  claimed  to  be  Christian. 

At  length  Congress  partially  put  an  end  to  these 
crimes  by  passing  a stringent  law  known  as  the  “ Enforce- 
ment Act.”  This  authorized  the  Government  to  protect 
the  victims  of  these  outrages,  and  punish  the  authors  of 
such  crimes.  President  Grant  issued  a proclamation  sus- 
pending the  habeas  corpus  in  nine  counties  in  South 
Carolina.  This  was  necessary,  because  the  State  courts 
interfered  with  the  Federal  officials  in  the  discharge  of 
their  duties.  The  influence  of  this  assertion  of  law  ex- 
tended to  other  States,  and  to  some  extent  prevented 
similar  outrages. 

These  unpunished  crimes,  and  the  petty  annoyances 
inflicted  upon  numerous  business  Northern  men  and  their 
families,  who  were  desirous  of  casting  in  their  lot  with 
their  Southern  brethren,  have  retarded  the  material  pros- 
perity of  these  States  for  a quarter  of  a century  ; for  even 
when  the  outrages  entirely  cease  (as  they  mostly  have 
done),  the  memory  of  such  deeds  must  create  a prejudice 
not  soon  to  be  eradicated  from  the  minds  of  men.1 

Scientific  men  desired  to  obtain  uniform  observations 
on  the  atmosphere  at  the  same  moment  over  the  entire 
Union;  and  as  such  information  could  be  made  available 
for  practical  purposes  by  the  telegraph.  Congress  estab- 
lished the  Signal  Service  Bureau" — the  first  in  the 
world.  These  observations  pertain  to  the  temperature 
and  moisture  of  the  atmosphere,  the  velocity  and  direc- 
tion of  the  wind,  and  when  likely  to  be  of  use,  the  rise 
and  fall  of  rivers.  The  reports  of  the  Bureau  are  espe- 

1 See  the  13  vols.  of  Reports  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  Congress  on 
these  outrages. 


SIGNAL  SERVICE. 


1057 


daily  beneficial  to  the  mercantile  marine,  as  storms  are 
predicted  many  hours,  and  sometimes  days  in  advance, 
meantime  storm  signals  are  placed  along  the  coast  to 
warn  vessels  which  are  about  going  to  sea.  These  bene- 
fits are  shared  also  by  the  farmers  and  the  commerce  of 
the  Great  Lakes,  as  the  observations  and  predictions  are 
published  and  sent  daily  to  every  post-office  in  the  Union, 
besides  being  printed  in  the  daily  papers.  There  are 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  stations  in  the  United 
States  where,  at  the  same  moment,  observations  are  made, 
recorded,  and  the  result  transmitted  to  the  main  office  of 
the  Bureau  at  Washington.  In  order  to  ascertain  the 
condition  of  the  higher  atmosphere,  high  points  that  may 
be  available  for  the  purpose  are  chosen,  such  as  Mount 
Mitchel,  H.  C.,  Mount  Washington,  N".  H.,  and  Pike’s 
Peak,  Colorado,  and  others.  The  time  appointed  to  take 
these  observations  corresponds  to  7.35  a.m.,  Washington 
City.  It  is  estimated  that  nine  tenths  of  these  predictions 
are  verified,  and  great  benefits  have  been  thus  far  con- 
ferred upon  the  country,  and  as  the  operations  of  nature 
become  better  understood,  they  will  be  still  greater  in  the 
future.  The  system  has  been  adopted  in  Europe ; and 
there  have  been  occasions  when  great  risks  on  the  sea 
were  about  to  be  run  parties  have  sent  for  and  obtained 
the  predictions  of  the  Bureau. 

One  of  the  most  terrible  fires  of  modern  times  in  two 
days  devastated  the  City  of  Chicago  ; a wind  storm  of  un- 
precedented violence  raged  the  entire  time,  and  fanned 
the  flames  in  their  onward  course  until  they  were  stopped 
by  Lake  Michigan.  Seventeen  thousand  four  hundred 
and  fifty  buildings  were  reduced  to  ashes ; to  do  this  the 
flames  raged  over  twenty-one  hundred  acres  ; ninety- 
eight  thousand  persons  were  rendered  homeless,  while 
two  hundred  million  dollars’  worth  of  property  was  vir- 
tually annihilated.  The  catastrophe  was  followed  by 
great  distress ; but  relief  generously  poured  in  from  all 


CHAP. 

LXVI. 


1870. 


1871, 
Oct. 
8 & 9 


1058 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXVL 


1871. 


1872, 
Nov.  9. 


From 

1864 

to 

1873. 


parts  of  the  Union  and  even  from  Europe.  But  perhaps 
the  most  remarkable  feature  growing  out  of  this  great 
misfortune  was  the  indomitable  energy  of  the  citizens 
themselves,  who  commenced  to  build  before  the  debris 
was  cold,  and  to-day  their  city  is  more  beautiful  than 
ever,  and  is  extending  its  facilities  of  commerce  and 
trade  farther  and  farther. 

In  the  business  portion  of  the  city  of  Boston  a lire 
broke  out  and  raged  for  nearly  two  days,  burning  over 
sixty-live  acres  covered  with  buildings,  destroying  prop- 
erty to  the  value  of  more  than  eighty  million  dollars. 
This  space  has  since  been  built  over  with  substantial 
houses  for  commercial  purposes.  Meanwhile  the  streets 
of  the  same  have  been  straightened. 

The  rebellion  was  the  occasion  of  remarkable  prog- 
ress in  all  the  industries  of  the  loyal  States.  To  equip 
the  Navy  and  make  it  effective  required  an  immense  out- 
lay of  material,  iron,  coal,  and  lumber.  Meantime  the 
destruction  of  railroads  during  the  war,  and  their  unusual 
wear  and  tear,  to  repair  which  rendered  necessary  a vast 
expansion  in  the  manufacture  of  railway  equipments, 
and  this  led  to  an  unprecedented  development  of  the 
iron  and  coal 1 resources  of  the  country.  The  building  of 
railways  was  much  extended ; one  road — the  Union  Pa- 
cific— was  finished  across  the  continent,  and  another — 
the  Northern  Pacific — partially  so ; while  in  the  lately 
insurgent  States  the  railroads  ruined  by  the  war  were 
put  in  repair.  In  the  Northern  States,  also,  the  roads 
were  refitted  and  much  extended,  requiring  for  the 
greater  part  steel  rails,  thus  leading  to  the  manufacture 
of  iron  in  the  form  of  steel  by  the  rapid  process  known 
as  the  Bessemer,  and  this  again  into  rails. 

The  manufacture  of  textile  fabrics  from  cotton  and 
wool  also  received  a great  impulse,  while  another  indus- 

1 Primer  on  the  Natural  Resources  of  the  United  States,  by  J.  Harris 
Patton. 


COMMERCIAL  FAILURES. 


1059 


try,  hitherto  quite  limited,  that  of  manufacturing  silk,  chap 

was  extended  enormously,  till  the  yearly  product  was  ‘ 

valued  at  thirty  million  dollars  by  the  Census.  All  the 
industries  of  the  Union  were  promoted  in  consequence  of  17. 
the  war,  and  by  a tariff  designed  to  equalize  the  cost  of 
production  by  counterbalancing  the  low  wages  paid  opera- 
tives in  Europe. 

One  of  the  most  severe  commercial  failures  this  coun- 
try has  experienced  was  inaugurated  suddenly  by  a large  1873 
banking-house  in  Philadelphia  stopping  payment.  This 
institution  was  so  intimately  associated  with  others  through- 
out the  land  that  almost  immediately  numbers  of  banks, 
commercial  houses,  and  manufacturing  establishments, 
and  one  prominent  railway  company,  failed  to  meet  their 
obligations.  This  has  been  characterized  by  some  the 
“ Money  Panic,”  and  by  others  the  “ Railroad  Panic.” 

The  industries  of  the  country  were  greatly  disturbed ; 
they  had  been  so  very  successful  and  had  increased  their 
productions  to  such  an  extent  that  they  had  a large  sur- 
plus on  hand  for  which  there  was  no  market.  Railway 
building,  a prominent  industry  of  the  time,  ceased  almost 
entirely,  and  multitudes  of  working  men  in  every  portion 
of  the  Union  were  thrown  out  of  employment.  Unfor- 
tunately the  high  wages  paid  for  the  last  few  years  had 
led  to  habits  of  extravagance  among  those  who  obtained 
their  living  from  wages  alone.  Nor  did  the  evil  end 
here ; even  those  who  hitherto  had  been  economical  in 
their  expenses  and  prudent  in  their  investments  were 
tempted  to  spend  more  money  on  their  living  than  their 
incomes  would  warrant.  In  consequence  of  these  im- 
prudencies  the  distress  was  more  than  usually  extended, 
reaching  all  classes  of  the  community.  “ The  financial 
revulsion  of  1873,  which  was  a necessary  consequence  of 
the  speculation  and  over-production  incited  by  the  inflated 
currency  of  the  ten  years  previous,  brought  its  saddest 
results  on  the  class  who  depend  on  wages,  cutting  off  the 


1060 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 
LX  VI. 


1875. 

Jan. 

10. 


1873. 

Mav 

22* 


means  of  living  with  many,  and  perpetuating  the  distress 
through  a series  of  years  following.1 

Two  years  later,  in  order  to  remove  these  evils  and 
get  back  to  a solid  basis  for  financial  transactions.  Con- 
gress passed  a bill  making  provision  for  the  resumption 
of  specie  payments.  This  meant  that  the  National  gov- 
ernment intended  to  make  its  greenbacks,  its  bonds,  and 
the  notes  of  the  National  Banks  redeemable  in  coin.  This 
resumption  was  to  take  place  on  January  1.  1S79.  The 
day  after  the  bill  was  signed  by  President  Grant  the  pre- 
mium on  gold  began  to  disappear,  and  so  carefully  were 
the  financial  aifairs  of  the  government  managed  that  on 
the  appointed  day  it  vanished,  and  resumption  was  an 
accomplished  fact. 

The  unsettled  condition  of  political  affairs  in  Louisi- 
ana eventually  assumed  the  form  of  riot  in  Xew  Orleans. 
The  two  candidates  for  the  office  of  governor  both 
claimed  to  be  elected,  in  accordance  with  the  decision  of 
the  two  Beturning  Boards  of  elections — one  Bepublican, 
the  other  Democratic.  They  mutually  charged  each 
other  with  fraud.  Thus,  at  the  same  time,  there  were 
two  acting  governors  and  two  Legislatures  in  session ; the 
laws  were  not  enforced,  and  confusion  reigned  to  the 
detriment  of  life  and  property.  President  Grant  at 
length  issued  a proclamation  enjoining  the  people  to 
preserve  order  and  restrain  themselves  from  violence. 
He  saw  reasons  to  sustain  the  claims  of  Governor  Kellogg 
(Bepublican).  The  difficulties  in  respect  to  the  election 
arose  from  the  outrages  committed  by  marauding  bands 
of  lawless  men,  who  threatened  and  abused  the  freedmen 
if  they  voted  against  the  wishes  of  these  bands.  In  con- 
sequence the  votes  of  certain  districts  were  counted  by 
one  returning  board,  and  rejected  by  the  other. 

This  confusion  and  ill  feeling  lasted  for  an  entire 


1 Political  Economy,  TV  ay  land  and  Chapin,  p.  158. 


THE  INDIAN  QUESTION. 


1061 


year,  when  finally  they  resulted  in  a riot  in  the  city ; a 
conflict  occurring  in  the  streets,  in  which  twenty-six  per- 
sons lost  their  lives,  and  Governor  Kellogg  was  forced  to 
take  refuge  in  the  United  States  Custom  House.  The 
President  now  interfered  and  reinstated  Kellogg,  and 
compelled  obedience  for  a while  to  the  law.  Some 
months  afterward  the  troubles  were  renewed ; Congress 
being  in  session  a committee  of  that  body  was  sent  to 
Hew  Orleans  to  make  an  investigation  ; and  under  its 
conciliatory  influence  the  difficulties  were  adjusted. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  problems  for  the  National 
Government  to  solve  has  been  that  of  the  Indian  question. 
Congress  deemed  it  better  for  the  Indians  to  be  settled 
by  themselves  on  tracts  of  land  or  reservations,  where 
their  rights  would  not  be  encroached  upon  by  white  set- 
tlers, and  where  they  might  in  time  become  civilized, 
which  could  never  be  the  case  so  long  as  they  roamed  as 
hunters.  The  Government  at  first  set  apart  for  their 
homes  a large  section  of  country — about  69,000  square 
miles — known  as  the  Indian  Territory,  one  of  the  finest 
regions  in  the  Union.  At  different  times  since  the  re- 
moval there  of  the  southern  Indians,1  various  northern 
and  western  tribes  and  portions  of  tribes,  have  been  trans- 
ferred thither,  until  the  population  has  reached  nearly 
70,000.  Their  advances  in  civilization,  in  cultivating  the 
soil  and  in  the  simpler  forms  of  mechanical  industries, 
and  especially  in  the  secular  and  religious  education  of 
their  children,  have  been  under  tlife  circumstances  very 
successful.  There  are  also  in  the  Avestern  section  of  the 
Union  several  smaller  reservations ; at  all  of  which  the 
Indians  have  made  much  progress  during  the  last  ten  or 
fifteen  years  in  acquiring  settled  habits.  At  all  these 
reservations  are  found  Christian  Missionaries,  who  are 
doing  much  to  give  a proper  tone  to  the  civilization  in 
progress  by  instructing  the  adults  as  well  as  the  children. 


CHAP. 

LXVI. 


1875. 


1833. 


1 Hist.  pp.  700,  706. 


1062 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  There  are  still  remaining  wild  Indians,  who  are,  as 
LX^ 1-  yet,  unwilling  to  settle  on  reservations.  A treaty  was 
1875-  made  with  a small  tribe,  the  Modocs,  living  on  Lake  Kla- 
math. according  to  which  they  were  to  remove  to  a reser- 
vation. They  afterward  refused  and  took  to  the  war  path, 
and  Gen.  Canby,  in  command  of  the  Department,  intended 
to  persuade  them  to  go  peaceably.  But  when  about  to 
enter  upon  the  conference  agreed  upon  the  Modocs  treacli- 
18-.9  erously  killed  him  and  one  of  the  Lmited  States  Commis- 
sioners, and  wounded  others.  The  Government  sent  a 
military  force  which  drove  the  Indians  from  their  hiding 
places,  and  finally  captured  the  assassins.  Captain  J ack,  the 
principal  chief,  and  two  minor  ones  were  hanged.  The 
tribe  was  broken  up  and  a portion  scattered ; while  the 
remainder  was  captured  and  sent  to  the  Indian  Territory. 
1S73.  The  Territory  of  Colorado  made  application  for  admis- 
Apnl.  gjon  int0  the  LTiion  as  a State.  Its  fine  deposits  of  the 
precious  metals,  and  its  facilities  for  stock  raising,  togeth- 
er with  a health-giving  climate,  allured  thither  an  unusu- 
ally large  immigration.  Congress  passed  the  Enabling 
Act,  and  the  Territory  was  admitted  the  following  year— 
June,  making  the  thirty-eighth  State. 

Within  a few  years  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  a 
number  of  those  who.  during  that  period,  were  engaged 
in  public  affairs,  passed  away.  Among  these  were  Edwin 
M.  Stanton,  the  efficient  Secretary  of  War  under  Presi- 
dent Lincoln;  William  II.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State 
under  Presidents  Lincoln  and  Johnson,  of  great  learning 
as  a statesman,  and  most  efficient  in  managing  our  foreign 
18T6  relations ; Salmon  P.  Chase,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
to  whom  is  due  the  system  of  National  Banks ; Gen. 
George  S.  Meade,  the  hero  of  Gettysburg;  Henry  Wil- 
son while  Vice-President,  and  Andrew  Johnson,  not  long 
after  his  term  of  office  expired ; Louis  Agassiz,  one  of 
the  great  teachers  of  science,  and  Joseph  Henry,  a 
scientist  of  world-wide  reputation,  and  for  many  years 


THE  CENSUS— CENTENNIAL. 


1063 


Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington 
City. 

The  Census  of  1870  gave  the  population  of  the  States 
and  Territories  of  the  Union  as  38,533,101 ; about  7,000,- 
000  more  than  that  of  1860.  This  was  the  most  eventful 
decade  of  our  history.  The  nation  since  the  close  of  the 
rebellion  has  exhibited  remarkable  elasticity,  and  has  been 
rapidly  recovering  from  the  strain  of  an  extraordinarily  ex- 
pensive civil  war,  both  in  precious  lives  and  treasure. 

Congress  passed  a law  by  which,  hereafter,  all  officers  of 
the  national  Government  elected  by  the  people  are  to  be 
chosen  on  “the  Tuesday  next  after  the  first  Monday  in 
November” — to  take  effect  in  1876. 

As  the  time  drew  near  when  the  nation  would  be  one 
hundred  years  old,  Congress  made  arrangements  to  celebrate 
its  Centennial  in  an  appropriate  manner,  properly  selecting 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  as  the  place  of  the  national  celebra- 
tion, because  in  that  city  was  made  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  July  4,  1776. 1 “ The  act  provides  for  cele- 

brating in  a becoming  manner  the  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  American  Independence,  bv  holding  an  International 
Exhibition  of  Arts,  Manufactures  and  products  of  the  soil 
and  mines,  at  Philadelphia,  in  1876.”  Congress  authorized 
first  a “Commission  to  consist  of  not  more  than  one 
delegate  from  each  State  and  territory,  to  be  appointed  by 
the  governors  thereof,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  prepare  and 
superintend  the  execution  of  a plan  for  holding  the  Exhi- 
bition, and  its  general  supervision  ; they  to  continue  in 
office  to  the  end  of  the  Exhibition  ; ” and  secondly  a corpora- 
tion known  as  “The  Centennial  Board  of  Finance,”  com- 
posed of  prominent  citizens  from  each  State  and  Territory 
of  the  United  States,  equal  in  number  to  twice  the  number 
of  their  senators,  members,  and  delegates  in  Congress. 
The  corporation  to  hold  its  meetings  in  Philadelphia.  The 
President  was  authorized  to  invite  the  co-operation  of 
foreign  powers  in  the  celebration. 

lHist.  p.  412. 


CHAP. 

LXVI. 


1870. 


1874. 


1871. 

Mar. 

3. 


1064 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  This  invitation  was  responded  to  in  a most  gratifying 
— ’ manner : nearly  forty  of  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth. 

IS , 6.  were  represented  in  innumerable  f orms  of  their  manufac- 
tures and  arts,  evincing  unusual  national  courtesy  and 
good-will — the  manifestation  of  an  “ era  of  good  feeling” 
among  the  nations  of  the  world.  The  circumstances  were 
such  as  to  command  attention;  the  independent  growth  of 
the  nation  in  a brief  period  of  a century,  the  result  of  its 
starting  on  its  career  with  the  elements  of  national  great- 
ness in  abeyance  ready  to  lie  developed  as  occasion  re- 
quired ; the  energy  of  a people  every  one  imbued  with 
the  self-respect  and  self-reliance  of  an  intelligent  freeman. 

The  Exhibition  buildings  were  in  Fairmount  Park, 
were  of  immense  size,  and  finely  arranged  for  the  purpose 
designed.  By  means  of  the  proper  adjustment  of  glass  in 
iron  frames,  the  light  was  diffused  in  the  most  perfect  man- 
ner. The  main  structure  covered  an  area  of  20  acres  (the 
same  as  that  of  the  London  Exhibition  in  1851);  the  other 
buildings,  in  all,  occupied  40  acres  more.  These  were  of 
different  styles  and  finished  in  accordance  with  each,  dis- 
playing much  taste,  and  withal  an  appropriateness  of  design. 
The  whole  buildings  combined  covered  an  area  about  the 
same  as  that  of  the  Great  Exhibitions  of  London  and  Paris 
(1S62-7),  while  they  contained  10  acres  more  than  the  one 
at  Vienna  (1873).  This  Exposition  has  certainly  proved  to 
be  a school  for  improvement  in  the  mechanical  and  taste- 
ful arts,  as  here  were  seen  the  finest  specimen  of  man’s 
mechanical  skill  or  inventive  genius.  Every  well-wisher  of 
moral  and  intellectual  progress  will  look  with  interest 
upon  the  effects  of  such  great  gatherings  of  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  thus  commingling,  and. 
we  trust,  in  the  interest  of  “ peace  and  good-will  to  men.” 

1872.  In  the  presidential  election  in  1872  President  Grant 
was  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party,  and  Horace 
Greeley  of  the  Liberal  Republicans  and  Democratic  party. 
The  former  was  elected  for  a second  term. 


GREELEY — SUMNER. 


1065 


Horace  Greeley  died  on  the  29th  of  November,  1872. 
Born  in  New  Hampshire,  the  son  of  a humble  farmer  in 
very  limited  circumstances,  through  many  trials  he  ac- 
quired self-reliance.  True  to  himself  and  his  integrity  he 
rose  by  his  own  energy,  and  won  the  respect  of  his  country- 
men. Kind  in  heart  and  proverbially  benevolent,  the 
friend  of  the  oppressed  of  every  land  and  the  unrelenting 
opponent  of  every  system  of  oppression.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  began  as  an  apprentice  in  a country  printing 
office,  and  after  many  changes  and  trials  and  disappoint- 
ments he  came  to  the  city,  and  in  time  founded  the  New 
York  Tribune . Through  that  medium  he  exerted  a great 
influence  in  promoting  the  cause  of  temperance,  and  the 
industrial  interests  of  the  land.  The  death  of  no  American 
private  citizen  had,  hitherto,  elicited  so  much  sympathy 
and  respect. 

Charles  Sumner  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  and  died  at 
Washington,  March  11,  1874.  Sent  direct  from  the  people 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  he  remained  a member  of 
that  body  for  twenty-two  years,  and  in  the  active  duties  of 
his  position  till  his  death.  In  varied  learning  and  refined 
taste  and  mature  scholarship  he  towered  above  his  fellows. 
He  maintained  his  influence  in  the  nation  by  the  purity  of 
his  political  character  and  his  commanding  intellect,  his 
most  thorough  knowledge  of  every  important  subject 
brought  before  the  Senate,  and  his  comprehensive  views 
of  national  policy.  Unswerving  in  opposition  to  the  system 
of  slavery  and  the  untiring  friend  of  the  colored  man — 
whether  a bondman  or  a freedman — he  labored  to  remove 
obstructions  to  his  success  in  life,  if  he  himself  chose  to 
make  the  proper  exertion  as  a citizen  by  industry,  and  culti- 
vating habits  of  economy  and  thrift. 

The  nation  having  just  passed  through  a fearful  struggle 
to  preserve  its  integrity,  the  question  occurs,  Will  there 
ever  be  another  attempt  to  destroy  the  Union  ? No  doubt 
questions  of  national  policy  will  arise  in  the  future,  on 
which  will  be  differences  of  opinion,  but  never,  probably. 


CHAP. 
LX VI . 


1872. 


1066 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 
LX  VI. 


1867. 


of  a class  involving  principles  of  morals,  of  right  aud 
justice,  wounding  the  conscience  of  the  people,  as  was  the 
case  in  respect  to  the  system  of  slavery.  The  signs  of  the 
times  indicate  that  the  principles  of  religious  freedom  will 
forever  secure  that  perfect  toleration  in  matters  of  con- 
science so  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  American  people.  Our 
system  of  common  schools  is  destined  to  be  a great  har- 
monizer  of  the  nation,  by  preparing  the  people  to  become 
more  and  more  intelligent,  uniting  them  by  the  strong 
bond  of  the  same  language  and  its  literature,  in  contrast 
with  the  other  nations  or  empires  of  the  world  occupying 
immense  areas  of  territory.  The  school-books  used  through- 
out the  land  are  the  same  iu  character.  The  language 
of  the  newspaper,  the  pulpit,  the  lecture,  the  myriads  of 
books  published  from  year  to  year,  is  the  same,  while  it  is 
spoken  throughout  the  Union  with  scarcely  a difference  of 
intonation,  much  less  amounting  to  a dialect. 

The  continuous  changes  of  residence  by  emigration  from 
one  part  of  the  country  to  another,  and  the  facilities  of 
travel,  bringing  together  the  people  of  the  various  sections 
in  social  intercourse,  assimilate  their  characteristics,  while 
the  small  fraction,  comparatively,  of  the  foreign  population 
scarcely  affects  the  homogeneity  of  the  nation,  for  they  soon 
affiliate,  and  their  children,  taught  in  the  public  schools, 
grow  up  genuine  Americans.  The  numerous  railways  con- 
necting all  portions  of  the  Union,  and  affording  easy  com- 
munication for  travel  or  transportation  of  merchandise,  are 
so  many  bands  to  hold  us  together  ; while  the  national 
system  of  finances  have  a binding  influence  by  cheapening 
exchange  from  one  section  to  another,  and  thus  saving  an 
immense  sum  every  year  to  the  commercial  interests  of  the 
land. 

The  conformation  of  our  territory  is  suited  to  be  occu- 
pied by  one  nation  alone  ; and  the  very  diversities  of  climate 
with  us  have  a binding  influence,  inasmuch  as  they  afford 
us  cheaply  the  necessaries  of  life  and  many  of  its  luxuries. 
The  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  extending  north  and 


THE  CONTINUANCE  OF  THE  UNION. 


1067 


south,  with  its  varied  climate,  will  ever  be  the  indispensa- 
ble storehouse  of  cereals  and  live  stock,  furnishing,  in 
exchange  for  manufactures  and  merchandise,  most  of  the 
food  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  Atlantic  slope,  and  also  for 
the  mining  regions  of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  while  the 
States  along  the  South  Atlantic  and  on  the  Gulf  are  equally 
as  important  in  furnishing  cotton  and  sugar.  These  com- 
mon wants  will  make  the  people  of  all  sections  of  the  land 
mutually  dependent  one  upon  another.  Should  questions 
of  national  policy  hereafter  arise,  under  such  influences 
they  will  be  considered  in  a conciliatory  spirit,  and  decided 
in  the  light  of  truth  and  justice. 

The  rapid  and  easy  communication  by  means  of  railways 
from  one  section  of  the  land  to  another  precludes  the  dan- 
ger of  sectional  divisions  of  territory  on  account  of  its 
great  extent ; while  the  telegraph  almost  brings  the  listen- 
ing ear  of  the  nation  to  the  halls  of  Congress  to  hear  the 
discussions  of  questions  of  national  importance,  thus  en- 
abling the  people  to  form  an  intelligent  judgment  and  to 
decide  such  questions  by  their  vote  in  the  light  of  patriot- 
ism and  in  the  spirit  of  the  Golden  Rule. 

The  moral  influences  existing  among  the  various  Chris- 
tian denominations  of  the  land  serve  to  unite  the  whole 
people  in  sympathy  of  a purer  type  and  to  a greater  extent 
than  before  the  civil  war,  as  the  greatest  obstacle  to  a genuine 
national  Christian  fellowship  was  removed  by  the  extinction 
of  slavery,  which  brooded  over  the  churches  of  the  land 
like  a moral  incubus  and  precluded  perfect  unity  of  Chris- 
tian feeling  because  of  the  conflicting  views  held  by  Chris- 
tians, both  North  and  South,  on  the  moral  character  of  that 
system. 

Now  the  various  benevolent  and  Christian  institutions 
can  have  full  play  ; their  power  is  increasing  rapidly  from 
year  to  year,  while  they  are  extending  their  influence  and 
helping  hand  into  fields  of  labor  in  every  section  of  the 
country,  inciting  a stronger  national  interest  and  brother- 
hood of  feeling.  Not  the  least  will  be  the  influence  for 


CHAP. 
LX  VI. 


1876. 


1068 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 
LX  VI. 


1871. 


good  of  tliat  mutual  respect  which  prevails  between  the 
surviving  Union  and  Confederate  soldiers  who  met  in 
battle  and  tried  each  other’s  mettle,  and  which  in  due 
time  will  banish  far  away  bygone  prejudices  ; — the  “ Ir- 
reconcilables,”  for  the  most  part,  have  been  similar  to 
those  whom  Washington  in  his  day  characterized  as 
“ chimney-corner  soldiers.” 

The  question  of  Civil  Service  Reform  was  agitated  to 
remedy  evils  arising  from  appointing  persons  to  minor 
offices — all  under  the  Head  Departments — for  political 
reasons  alone,  rather  than  for  integrity  and  capacity. 
Congress  created  a Board  of  Commissioners  to  devise  a 
system  of  rules  by  which  the  appointments  to  office 
should  he  governed.  The  Board  recommended  that 
examinations  of  candidates  should  be  held,  and  a certain 
grade  of  scholarship  required ; and,  to  secure  the  servi- 
ces of  capable  men,  as  well  as  to  retain  their  skill  and 
experience  for  the  benefit  of  the  Government,  they 
should  not  be  removed  except  for  malfeasance  in  office 
or  inability  to  perform  its  duties.  These  regulations  are 
somewhat  difficult  to  be  carried  out ; a candidate  may 
pass  the  examination  on  abstract  studies,  yet  lack  the  ex- 
perience and  business  tact  to  fulfill  the  duties  required. 
However,  a great  gain  is  secured  by  examinations  ; and 
in  time,  no  doubt,  scholarship  and  experience  will  be  so 
combined  that  the  affairs  of  these  minor  offices  will  be 
conducted  on  common-sense  principles.  We  have  seen 
in  what  manner  the  system  was  introduced,  and  also  the 
effect  produced.1  It  was  natural  that  those  who  desired 
to  obtain  United  States  offices  for  themselves  or  their 
friends  should  apply  to  their  own  Representative  in  Con- 
gress. This  custom  increased  to  such  an  extent  that 
Congressmen,  even  when  uninvited,  were  tempted  to 
suggest  the  names  of  those  whom  they  wished  to  be  ap- 


- Hist.  pp.  705,  730. 


POLITICAL  OPINIONS. 


1069 


pointed  in  their  own  district;  in  time  the  suggestion 
grew  into  almost  a demand. 

Another  subject  of  general  discussion  throughout  the 
country  and  hi  Congress  was  that  of  the  linances  in  con- 
nection with  the  Tariff  and  Internal  Revenue — by  the 
two  latter  was  raised  the  means  to  pay  the  interest  on  the 
National  debt  and  defray  the  current  expenses.  This 
was  by  far  the  most  important  question  in  all  its  relations 
before  Congress ; for  on  the  judicious  management  of 
the  finances  depended  much  of  the  material  prosperity  of 
the  country. 

W e can  learn  the  opinions  held  by  the  two  main  po- 
litical parties,  by  noting  them  as  found  in  their  declara- 
tions of  principles,  known  as  platforms,  during  the  Presi- 
dential canvass.  The  Republican  Convention  (at  Cincin- 
nati) said : “ Commercial  prosperity,  public  morals  and 
National  credit  demand  that  this  promise  [the  pledged 
faith  of  the  United  States  Government  to  pay  its  bonds 
in  coin]  be  fulfilled  by  a continuous  and  steady  progress 
to  specie  payments.”  Again:  “That  duties  upon  impor- 
tations should  be,  as  far  as  possible,  adjusted  to  promote 
the  interests  of  American  labor,  and  advance  the  pros- 
perity of  the  whole  country.”  The  Democratic  Conven- 
tion (at  St.  Louis)  said:  “We  denounce  the  financial 
imbecility  of  that  party  [the  Republican]  which,  while 
annually  professing  to  intend  a speedy  return  to  specie 
payments,  has  annually  enacted  fresh  hindrances  thereto. 
As  such  a hindrance  we  denounce  the  resumption  clause 
of  the  act  of  1875,  and  we  here  demand  its  repeal.” 
Again:  “We  demand  that  all  Custom  House  taxation 
shall  be  only  for  revenue.”  The  “ Greenback”  party,  in 
respect  to  the  finances,  coincided  with  the  Democratic, 
saying:  “We  demand  the  immediate  and  unconditional 
repeal  of  the  specie  resumption  act  of  1875.” 

The  candidates  of  the  Republican  and  Democratic 
Conventions  were — of  the  former,  Rutherford  Birchard 


CHAP. 

LXVI. 


1871. 


1876. 


June 

15. 


June 

28. 


May 

18. 


1070 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS"  PEOPLE. 


chap.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  for  President,  and  William  Almon 
LX—  Wheeler,  of  New  York,  for  Yice-President ; and  of  the 
1876-  latter,  Samuel  Jones  Tilden,  of  New  York,  and  Thomas 
Andrews  Hendricks,  of  Indiana.  The  canvass  was  very 
spirited,  and  the  result  very  close,  depending  upon  one 
electoral  vote.  A dispute  arose,  especially  in  relation  to 
the  votes  cast  in  three  States — Louisiana.  South  Carolina, 
and  Florida  : it  was  doubtful  for  which  candidate  they  had 
legally  voted  ; two  sets  of  certificates  of  election  being 
handed  in.  The  excitement  was  great  throughout  the 
land  ; fraud  was  charged  on  both  sides.  The  truth  could 
be  ascertained  only  by  a thorough  and  impartial  investi- 
gation. In  this  view  all  were  agreed  ; and  for  that  pur- 
pose a special  tribunal  was  created  by  Congress,  known 
as  the  Electoral  Commission,  whose  decision  was  to  be 
final,  unless  rejected  by  both  Houses  of  Congress.  This 
tribunal  consisted  of  five  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  five  United  States  Senators,  and  five 
Representatives  of  the  Lower  House.  Legal  counsel  was 
employed  on  each  side.  The  returns  from  every  State 
were  examined,  discussed  and  voted  upon  ; special  atten- 
tion being  given  to  those  from  the  doubtful  States  men- 
tioned above.  Every  discrepancy  in  the  returns  was  in- 
vestigated, and  after  expending  much  time  and  labor, 
the  Commission  decided  that  the  Republican  nominees, 
Hayes  and  Wheeler,  had  185  electoral  votes,  and  the 
Democratic,  Tilden  and  Hendricks,  1SL 

This  decision  was  made  on  March  2 ; the  4th  came  on 
Sunday ; on  that  day,  in  the  presence  of  a few  persons, 
1$77;  Mr.  Hayes  took  an  official  oath.  According  to  precedent. 
■^a1'  the  following  day  he  was  inaugurated.  The  unusual  in- 
terest in  the  questions  involved  drew  together  an  im- 
mense concourse  of  people  from  all  parts  of  the  Union. 
Chief- Justice  Waite  administered  the  oath  publicly. 


CHAPTER  LXVIL 


HAYES’S  ADMINISTRATION. 

Sketch  of  Life. — Inaugural. — Cabinet. — Civil  Service. — Railway  Riot. — 
Coinage  of  Silver. —Fisheries  Indemnity. — Resumption  of  Specie 
Payments. — Progress. — Tariff. — Platforms  of  Parties. — Tenth  Cen- 
sus.— Ratio  of  Representatives. 

Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes  was  born  in  Ohio, 
on  October  the  4th.  1822.  After  graduating  at  Kenyon 
College,  he  studied  in  Harvard  University  Law  School, 
and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Cincinnati. 
When  the  Rebellion  commenced  he  was  City  Solicitor ; 
he  volunteered,  and  was  assigned  to  a regiment  with  the 
rank  of  Major,  and  soon  after  promoted  in  the  same  to 
the  rank  of  Colonel.  At  the  battle  of  South  Mountain 
(Antietam)  he  was  severely  wounded  ; on  recovery  he 
rejoined  the  army,  and  afterward  was  created  Briga- 
dier-General of  Volunteers  “ for  gallant  and  meritorious 
services  in  the  battles  of  Winchester,  Fisher’s  Hill,  and 
Cedar  Creek and  finally  he  was  brevetted  Major-Gen- 
eral. He  was  then  put  in  command  of  a division,  and 
served  in  that  capacity  to  the  end  of  the  war,  having 
been  wounded  four  times  and  had  five  horses  shot  under 
him  in  battle. 

At  the  close  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  elected  Repre- 
sentative for  two  successive  terms  to  Congress ; but  be- 
fore the  close  of  his  second  term  he  was  chosen  Governor 
of  his  native  State,  and  again  for  the  second  time  ; at  the 
expiration  of  the  latter  term  he  was  again  elected  to  Con- 
gress, but  before  the  close  of  his  term  he  was  for  the 


CHAP. 

LXYII. 


1877. 


1072 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 
LX  VII. 


1877, 
Mar.  4. 


third  time  chosen  Governor  of  Ohio ; this  office  he 
resigned  to  assume  that  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  President  outlined  his  policy  in  his  Inaugural, 
the  burden  of  which  was  the  unsettled  condition  of  the 
recent  insurgent  States.  He  urged  “ the  permanent  pa- 
cification of  the  country  upon  such  principles  and  by  such 
measures  as  will  secure  the  complete  protection  of  all 
citizens  in  the  free  enjoyment  of  all  their  constitutional 
rights.”  Again  : **  That  a moral  obligation  rests  upon 
the  National  Government  to  employ  its  Constitutional 
power  and  influence  to  establish  the  rights  of  the  people 
it  has  emancipated.1'  **  That  universal  suffrage  should 
rest  upon  universal  education.  To  this  end  liberal  and 
permanent  provision  should  be  made  for  the  support  of 
free  schools.”  As  a subject  of  reform  he  alluded  to 
u certain  abuses  and  practices  of  so-called  official  pat- 
ronage, which  have  come  to  have  the  sanction  of  usage 
in  the  several  departments  of  our  Government.”  He  also 
expressed  himself  w in  behalf  of  an  early  resumption  of 
specie  payments.” 

The  President  called  to  his  Cabinet  William  M.  Ev- 
arts.  of  Xew  York,  Secretary  of  State;  John  Sherman, 
of  Ohio,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  George  W.  Mc- 
Creary, of  Iowa,  Secretary  of  War  ; Richard  W.  Thomp- 
son, of  Indiana,  Secretary  of  the  Xavy  ; Carl  Schurz,  of 
Missouri,  Secretary  of  the  Interior ; David  M.  Key,  of 
Tennessee.  Postmaster -Gen eral ; and  Charles  Devens.  of 
Massachusetts,  Attorney-General. 

President  Hayes  entered  upon  measures  of  Civil  Ser- 
vice by  making  but  few  changes  and  as  far  as  possible 
consulting  the  interests  of  the  public  alone.  He  also 
issued  an  order  requiring  officers  in  the  employ  of  the 
Government  not  “ to  take  part  in  the  management  of 
political  organizations,  caucuses,  conventions  or  election 
campaigns.”  A more  difficult  question  was  impending — 


RAILWAY  RIOT — SILVER. 


1073 


that  of  continuing  the  United  States  troops  in  the  States 
of  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina,  where  they  had  been 
detailed  to  preserve  order.  He  decided  to  remove  them  ; 
this  was  understood  to  be  done  on  the  assurance  of  gen- 
tlemen of  influence  in  that  section,  that  in  these  States 
there  should  be  no  more  political  disturbances. 

On  two  of  the  main  trunk  lines  of  railway  across  the 
Alleglianies — the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Central — commenced  a series  of  strikes,  as  they  are 
termed,  by  the  persons  in  employ  of  these  corporations. 
The  strikes  for  higher  wages  soon  degenerated  into  riots  ; 
the  rioters  took  possession  of  the  roads,  preventing  the 
trains  running;  meanwhile  the  freight  cars  were  plun- 
dered, a hundred  locomotives  were  destroyed  at  Pitts- 
burg alone,  and  an  immense  amount  of  merchandise  not 
stolen  was  burned,  and  railway  traffic  was  suspended 
across  the  continent  to  California.  The  authorities  of 
two  or  three  States  found  themselves  unable  to  restore 
order,  and  were  compelled  to  call  on  the  President  for 
aid.  United  States  troops  were  sent  to  quell  the  out- 
break, which  was  not  accomplished  until  many  lives  were 
lost,  and  much  property,  though  not  belonging  to  the 
railroads,  was  destroyed. 

Congress  passed  a bill  to  remonetize  silver,  which  had 
not  been  coined  to  much  extent  for  some  years ; it  was  a 
legal  tender  for  debts  public  and  private  to  the  amount 
of  five  dollars.  The  mints  have  since  been  coining  silver 
dollars  according  to  the  law,  till  there  is  a vast  amount 
lying  idle  in  the  Treasury ; for  the  people,  because  of  its 
weight  and  bulk,  are  not  disposed  to  use  it,  when  United 
States  greenbacks  and  National  Bank  notes  are  equal  in 
value  and  so  much  more  convenient.  These  silver  dol- 
lars are  of  u the  standard  weight  of  four  hundred  and 
twelve  grains  and  one-half,  troy,  of  standard  silver.” 
The  further  coinage  of  the  twenty-cent  pieces  was  also 
prohibited. 


CHAP. 

LXVII. 

1877. 


July. 


1881 


1074 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

J.XV11. 


1877, 

Nov. 

23. 


1879, 
Jan.  1. 


In  accordance  with  tlie  Second  Treaty  of  Washington, 
an  award  of  5,500,000  dollars  was  rendered  to  Great  Brit- 
ain, as  an  estimate  made  by  the  Commission  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  of  the  value  derived  by  the  United  States 
from  the  Canadian  fisheries.  Congress  made  an  appro- 
priation of  the  amount  awarded. 

During  more  than  the  first  half  of  Mr.  Hayes's  admin- 
istration discussions  still  continued  on  the  finances  and  the 
tariff,  both  in  Congress  and  in  the  newspapers.  The 
Democratic  party  wished  to  repeal  the  Resumption  Act, 
to  take  effect  on  January  1,  IS 79  ; and  as  they  had  con- 
trol in  the  House  of  Representatives,  there  they  were  thus 
far  successful,  but  not  having  a majority  in  the  Senate, 
in  that  body  the  repeal  failed  to  pass,  and  two  months 
before  the  desired  majority  was  obtained  Resumption 
had  taken  place — much  to  the  advantage  of  our  internal 
and  foreign  commerce  and  the  varied  industries  of  the 
Union.  A brighter  day  dawned  upon  the  financial  future 
of  the  country,  when  on  that  morning  the  premium  on 
gold  vanished. 

The  Resumption  placed  the  National  finances  on  a 
solid  basis,  while  the  Government  by  its  measures  inspired 
through  the  commercial  world  so  much  confidence  in  its 
power  to  meet  its  liabilities,  that  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  was  able,  at  the  option  of  the  holder,  either  to 
pay  the  United  States  bonds,  as  they  became  due,  or 
change  them  to  a lower  rate  of  interest  and  for  a longer 
time.  By  means  of  this  lower  rate  of  interest  there  was 
saved  annually  to  the  Treasury  more  than  13,000,000  dol- 
lars. In  addition,  the  confidence  thus  created  kept  the 
bonds  above  par  not  only  in  the  United  States  but  in 
Europe. 

Since  Resumption  there  has  been,  also,  a marked  and 
continuous  progress  in  the  country  ; great  advances  being 
made  in  all  its  industries.  The  Centennial  Exhibition 


EXPORTS — PLATFORMS. 


1075 


Jiacl  made  known  to  the  world  the  mechanical  skill  of  the 
American  people,  their  inventions  and  their  applications 
of  machinery  to  so  many  kinds  of  industry.  The  pro- 
ducts of  their  factories  and  their  workshops  have  since 
found  their  wTay  into  every  civilized  nation,  and  have  held 
their  own  by  their  merits.  As  an  economical  measure 
the  Centennial  has  paid  perhaps  more  than  its  expenses 
in  opening  these  markets  to  our  merchants  and  manufac- 
turers. 

Our  agricultural  products  have  been  abundant  for  the 
last  few  years.  The  crops  of  cotton,  four-fifths  of  which 
have  been  raised  by  the  colored  people  since  the  close  of 
the  Rebellion,  have  been  increasing  annually  in  quantity, 
till  that  of  1880  was  the  largest  ever  made.  Our  exports 
to  Europe  have  taken  an  unusually  wide  range  : — wheat 
as  well  as  flour  and  other  grains  ; cotton ; dairy  products  in 
the  form  of  cheese  and  butter  ; provisions  of  other  kinds, 
such  as  pork  and  slaughtered  meats,  in  great  quantities ; 
and  live  stock,  beef  cattle,  sheep  and  horses.  So  great 
have  these  exports  been  for  the  last  few  years  that  the 
balance  of  trade  has  been  in  our  favor  on  an  average  of 
150,000,000  dollars  a year.  In  1879  our  exports  in  value 
were  265,000,000  dollars  more  than  our  imports. 

After  specie  payments  were  resumed  differences  of 
opinion  on  the  tariff  continued  to  be  discussed,  and  it  be- 
came a prominent  question  in  the  Presidential  canvass, 
because  of  its  great  influence  on  the  mechanical  indus- 
tries of  the  Union.  The  two  main  political  organizations 
published  their  views  on  the  questions  at  issue  in  their 
National  Conventions,  called  to  nominate  candidates  for 
the  Presidency  and  the  Vice-Presidency.  The  Democrats 
(at  Cincinnati),  though  concise  in  their  statement,  were  in 
accordance  with  the  principles  they  announced  four  years 
before,  when  they  demanded  “ that  all  Custom  House 
taxation  should  be  only  for  revenue  /”  now,  “ A tariff 
for  revenue  only”  They  urged  “ that  common  schools 


CHAP, 

LXV1I. 


1879. 


1880. 


June 

23. 


1076 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXVII. 


1880, 

June 

5. 


1880, 

Nov 

2. 


should  be  fostered  and  protected,”  and  desired  “ a gen- 
eral  and  thorough  reform  of  the  Civil  Service.”  The 
Republicans  (at  Chicago)  said:  “We  reaffirm  the  belief 
avowed  in  1876  that  the  duties  levied  for  the  purpose  of 
revenue  should  so  discriminate  as  to  favoi'  American 
labor  P “ The  reviving  industries  should  be  further 
promoted,  and  that  the  commerce  already  increasing 
should  be  steadily  encouraged.”  u The  work  of  popular 
education  is  one  left  to  the  care  of  the  several  States,  but 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  Xational  Government  to  aid  that 
work  to  the  extent  of  its  Constitutional  ability.”  “ The 
reform  of  the  Civil  Service  should  be  thorough,  radical 
and  complete.” 

The  Democrats  nominated  General  Winfield  Scott 
Hancock,  of  Pennsylvania,  for  President,  and  William 
Henry  English,  of  Indiana,  for  Vice-President.  The 
Republicans  nominated  James  Abram  Garfield,  of  Ohio, 
for  the  first  office,  and  Chester  Alan  Arthur,  of  Hew 
York,  for  the  second.  The  latter  were  elected. 

The  tenth  census  was  taken  in  18S0.  It  revealed  the 
fact  that  the  population  of  the  United  States  had  in- 
creased nearly  thirteen-fold  since  the  first  census  in  1790 
— that  is,  from  3,929,211  to  50,155,783 — and  also  that 
the  increase  from  the  ninth  census  to  the  tenth  was 
12,000,278.  Congress,  in  accordance  with  the  law  on  the 
subject,  enacted  that  the  number  of  the  members  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  should  be  325  for  the  five  Con- 
gresses following  the  XLVIIth,  which  ends  March  3, 1883. 
This  number  gives  the  ratio  of  one  Representative  to 
every  151,918  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States — 
not  including  Territories.  In  the  first  Congress  (1789) 
the  ratio  was  one  Representative  to  every  30,000. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Hayes  drew  to  a close.  It 
had  been  one  of  unusual  prosperity  throughout  the  land. 
Great  advance  was  made  in  Civil  Service  Reform ; the 


INFLUENCE. 


1077 


taxes  from  Internal  Revenue  were  collected  and  paid  in  chap. 

without  loss  of  a dollar.  His  administration  will  long  be  — 

held  in  remembrance  for  the  high  tone  it  took  in  respect 
to  Temperance  in  the  White  House,  under  the  direction 
of  Mrs.  Hayes,  the  influence  of  which  has  been  felt  for 
good  throughout  the  Union. 

A great  boon  was  conferred  upon  humanity  when  Dr. 

James  Marion  Sims,  a native  of  South  Carolina,  but  then 
a resident  of  Montgomery,  Alabama,  was  successful  in 
curing  a disease  peculiar  to  women,  requiring  an  opera- 
tion, but  deemed  incurable.  Dr.  Sims  studied  the  dis-  1849> 
ease  for  years,  and  for  it  treated  numerous  patients; 
while  reasoning  on  the  subject  he  was  led  to  use  a fine 
wire  of  silver — that  metal  being  non-corrosive — as  a 
suture  : a cure  was  at  once  effected. 

When  Dr.  Sims  became  a resident  of  Hew  York  he 
often  and  freely  treated  patients  for  this  disease  in  the 
hospitals  of  the  city,  in  the  presence  of  their  corps  of 
surgeons.  The  cases,  outside  these  institutions,  were  so 
numerous  that  Dr.  Sims  proposed  to  establish  in  that 
city  a hospital  for  the  treatment  of  women’s  diseases 
exclusively,  to  which  proposal  strenuous  opposition  was 
made  by  the  prominent  surgeons  connected  with  the 
hospitals,  while  the  physicians  in  general  practice  were 
heartily  in  favor  of  the  project.  A number  of  benevolent 
ladies  took  the  matter  in  hand,  and  in  May,  1855,  the 
institution  began  its  work  in  a private  house,  and  with  a 
large  number  of  patients.  It  was  incorporated  under  the 
title  of  “ The  Women’s  Hospital  of  the  State  of  Hew  1857. 
York  ” — the  first  of  the  kind  in  the  world.  Funds  were 
soon  supplied,  a commodious  building  was  erected,  and 
from  the  first  it  was  successful.  Dr.  Sims  made  several 
trips  to  Europe,  and  taught  the  surgeons  in  the  hospitals 
how  to  treat  the  disease.  The  civil  authorities,  appreci- 
ating his  skill  and  many  eminent  services  to  surgical  sci- 
ence, conferred  on  him  their  highest  decorations. 


CHAP. 

LXVIII 


1881. 


CHAPTER  LXYIII. 

Garfield's  administration. 

Sketch  of  life. — Senate  of  the  State  of  Ohio. — Volunteers. — In  command 
in  Eastern  Kentucky. — Continuance  in  the  army. — In  Congress. — In- 
augurated President. — Success  of  the  finances. — The  assassination. — 
Sympathy  of  the  world. — Removal  to  Long  Branch. — Death. — Inter- 
ment.—Incident. — Training  of  citizens. — The  assassinations  and  the 
causes. — The  Spoils  System. 

James  Abram  Garfield  was  born  on  tlie  19tli  of  Xo- 
vember,  1831,  in  Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio,  whither  his 
father  had  removed  a few  years  before,  from  the  State 
of  Xew  York.  He  is  a fitting  type  of  a nation  composed 
of  elements  derived  from  so  many  races ; in  his  veins 
flowed  the  blood  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  the  German  and 
the  French  (Huguenot),  on  the  mothers  side.  A cabin 
built  of  unhewn  logs  was  his  birthplace ; it  stood  in  a 
small  clearing,  in  the  midst  of  a primeval  forest  of  large 
trees,  a portion  of  the  latter  having  been  removed  to 
make  room  for  a dwelling  and  to  open  up  a farm ; this 
had  been  done  by  the  toil  of  the  father,  who  died  when 
James— the  youngest  of  four  children — was  less  than  two 
years  old.  Blest  with  a mother  having  remarkable  traits 
of  character,  of  moral  and  mental  power,  of  will  and  per- 
severance, he  was  trained  early  to  habits  of  industry  and 
right  views  of  duty.  Poverty  from  the  first  pressed 
hard  upon  the  widow,  yet  she  managed  to  have  her  boy 
fitted  for  college.  He  himself,  when  the  work  was  fin- 
ished on  their  little  farm, — only  thirty  acres — labored  as  a 
hired  hand  for  the  neighbors ; at  the  age  of  sixteen  for  a 
while  he  drove  the  horses  on  the  tow-path  of  a canal. 


THE  START  IN  LIFE. 


1079 


Having  read  Captain  Marryatt’s  sea-stories,  liis  imagina- 
tion pictured  the  future  when  he  too  would  be  a sailor ; 
from  this  dream  he  was  awakened  by  the  good  sense  and 
tact  of  his  mother,  and  henceforth  with  untiring  diligence 
he  devoted  himself  to  his  books.  Soon  after  he  entered 
upon  his  preparatory  studies  in  a neighboring  academy, 
paying  part  of  his  expenses  by  performing  the  duties  of 
janitor  and  another  portion  by  being  assistant  teacher. 

Thus  prepared  he  entered  the  Junior  class  in  Wil- 
liams College,  Massachusetts,  where,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,  he  graduated,  receiving  the  Metaphysical  Honor  of 
his  class,  one  of  the  highest  given  by  that  institution  to 
her  graduates ; meanwhile  he  had  taken  a noble  stand 
among  his  fellow  students.  On  his  graduation  he  was 
invited  to  teach  the  classics  in  the  institution — now  be- 
come Hiram  College — in  which  he  had  pursued  his  pre- 
paratory studies ; at  the  close  of  the  first  year  he  was 
elected  its  president  by  the  trustees.  A laborious  worker, 
his  studies  took  a wide  range  ; reading  law  meantime  and 
preparing  lectures  on  a number  of  subjects,  which  on  his 
part  required  investigation,  and  preaching  as  opportunity 
served,  he  being  connected  with  the  denomination  called 
“ Church  of  the  Disciples.” 

He  now  began  to  take  a special  interest  in  the  politi- 
cal questions  then  agitating  the  country  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  : his  views  were  philosophical  and  comprehensive, 
taking  in  the  relations  of  the  system  to  individual  liberty, 
and  to  the  material  progress  of  the  Nation.  Unexpect- 
edly he  was  nominated,  and  elected  by  a large  majority 
to  the  Senate  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  There  his  command- 
ing talents  were  recognized,  as  he  impressed  his  own 
views — not  theoretical  book-learning,  but  practical  ideas  — 
upon  his  fellow  members  by  means  of  his  w^ell-arranged 
arguments,  and  his  remarkable  power  in  presenting  them 
clearly.  “ His  rule  was  never  to  speak  on  a subject  unless 
he  had  thoroughly  mastered  it.”  He  was  admitted  to  the 


CHAP. 

LXV1II 


1847. 


1856. 


1859 


1080 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXTI1L 


1881. 


1861, 

Dec. 

20. 


Dec. 

24. 


bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio  in  1860 ; six  years 
later  to  that  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

After  the  firing  on  Sumter,  when  Mr.  Lincoln  called 
for  75,000  troops  for  a three  months’  service,  Garfield 
was  the  first  to  rise  in  his  place  and  move  that  Ohio  fur- 
nish 20,000  men  and  appropriate  three  million  dollars. 
These  volunteers  sprang  to  arms  immediately,  and  were 
soon  ready  to  move.  Some  months  later  other  troops 
were  called  for  and  raised ; to  the  command  of  one  of 
these  regiments  Governor  Dennison  appointed  Garfield, 
with  the  rank  of  colonel.  When  the  men  were  ready,  he 
was  directed  to  occupy  Catlettsburg,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Big  Sandy,  and  he  himself  to  report  to  Gen.  Buell,  who 
was  in  command  of  the  Department  of  Ohio,  headquar- 
ters at  Louisville,  Ivy.  The  General  directed  Garfield  to 
drive  Gen.  Humphrey  Marshall  out  of  Eastern  Kentucky, 
who  was  then  invading  his  native  State  with  forces  drawn 
chiefly  from  Virginia.  It  was  known  that  Marshall  was 
entrenched  in  a camp  on  the  head  streams  of  the  Big 
Sandy,  and  that  the  disloyal  were  joining  him.  As  it 
was  necessary  to  act  promptly,  Garfield,  whose  force  had 
been  increased,  ordered  his  little  army  by  telegraph  from 
headquarters  to  move  up  the  Big  Sandy  some  twenty- 
eight  miles  to  Louisa,  there  he  joined  them  and  moved 
forward  till  within  striking  distance  of  the  enemy ; here 
he  halted  hoping  to  unite  with  a Union  force  coming 
from  Paris.  While  thus  waiting,  he  learned  fully  the 
position  of  the  invaders.  Unexpectedly  a messenger  came 
into  camp  from  Gen.  Buell  ; he  brought  only  an  inter- 
cepted letter  from  Marshall  to  his  wife,  in  which  he 
wrote  that  he  was  daily  expecting  to  be  attacked  by  ten 
thousand  men.  Gen.  Buell  had  said  : “ Colonel  Garfield, 
you  will  be  so  far  from  headquarters,  you  must  act  on 
your  own  responsibility.”  He  did  so;  putting  the  letter 
in  his  pocket  without  communicating  its  contents  to  any 
one,  he  promptly  made  arrangements  to  attack  the  in- 


SOLDIER  AND  CONGRESSMAN. 


1081 


vaders,  offering  as  imposing  a display  as  possible  with  chap. 

his  little  army  of  fourteen  hundred  men,  while  Marshall  I 

had  five  thousand  men  and  twelve  cannon.  The  strata-  -V862’ 
gem  succeeded  ; the  Union  soldiers  rushed  on  so  vigor-  10. 
ously  from  different  points,  that  the  Confederates  after 
a short  conflict  became  panic-stricken  and  fled — and  were 
literally  driven  out  of  the  State.  A few  weeks  later  Gar- 
field, in  recognition  of  this  success,  was  created  Brigadier- 
General  of  Volunteers — dating  from  this  battle  of  Middle 
Creek.  Soon  afterward  he  was  ordered  wflth  a portion 
of  his  forces  to  join  Gen.  Buell  at  Nashville,  and  with 
these  troops  he  took  part  in  the  battle  of1  Pittsburg  Land-  April 
ing  or  Shiloh,  where  he  commanded  a brigade.  7- 

Gen.  Garfield’s  health  now  failed,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  retire  from  the  army  for  its  recovery.  On  its 
restoration  he  was  detailed  by  the  "War  Department  as  a 
member  of  a court  martial  held  at  Washington  for  the 
trial  of  Gen.  Fitz  John  Porter.  We  again  find  him  in 
the  field  under  Gen.  Bosecrans,  then  at  Murfreesboro, 

Tenn.,  by  whom  he  wTas  appointed  Chief  of  Staff.  With  Dec. 
the  same  commander  he  wTas  at  the  battle  of  Cliicka-  1863, 
manga,  where  he  was  very  efficient,  exposing  himself  to 
much  danger  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  Two  weeks 
later  he  was  commissioned  Major-general  of  Volunteers 
by  the  President,  “for  gallant  conduct  and  important 
services.” 

Meantime  Garfield  had  been  elected  to  Congress,  and 
at  the  urgent  request  of  President  Lincoln,  he  retired 
from  the  army  and  began  his  career  as  a national  legis- 
lator. He  took  his  seat,  the  youngest  member  in  the  Dec.  4 
House  of  Representatives ; as  he  had  been  in  the  Legis- 
lature of  Ohio,  and  the  youngest  brigadier  in  the  army. 

T1  le  clash  of  arms  wras  exchanged  for  that  of  intellect  on 
the  floor  of  the  House,  where  he  took  an  active  part  in 


1 Hist.  923-926. 


1082 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN-  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXY1II. 


1865. 


1880. 


the  discussions  of  the  important  questions  coming  before 
that  body.  His  comprehensive  views,  and  his  power  as 
a close  reasoner  gave  him  great  influence.  At  first  he 
was  assigned  to  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs ; af  • 
terward,  when  the  war  was  over,  at  his  own  request  to 
the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means.  He  wished  to  study 
finance  in  all  its  phases,  for  he  discerned  that  the  great 
questions  of  the  future  would  be  on  financial  measures, 
including  tariffs.  When  he  was  nominated  for  the 
Presidency,  he  had  already  been  chosen  United  States 
Senator  by  the  Legislature  of  his  native  State. 

James  A.  Garfield  was  inaugurated  President  of  the 
United  States  on  March  4,  1881.  The  next  day  he  sent 
to  the  Senate  the  following  nominations  of  gentlemen  to 
compose  his  Cabinet.  Without  being  referred  to  com- 
mittees, they  were  unanimously  confirmed : James  G. 
Blaine,  of  Maine,  Secretary  of  State  ; William  Windom, 
of  Minnesota,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ; Thomas  L. 
James,  of  Hew  York,  Postmaster-General ; Robert  Lin- 
coln, of  Illinois,  Secretary  of  War;  William  H.  Hunt,  of 
Louisiana,  Secretary  of  the  Navy ; Wayne  MacVeagli,  of 
Pennsylvania,  Attorney-General ; and  Samuel  J.  Kirk- 
wood, of  Iowa,  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  previous  administration  the 
financial  measures  of  the  Government  inspired  so  much 
confidence  in  the  commercial  world,  and  in  the  minds  of 
bond-holders,  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was 
enabled  to  call  in  the  bonds  as  they  came  due,  and  pay 
their  face  value,  or,  at  the  option  of  the  holders,  change 
them  to  bonds  bearing  a lower  rate  of  interest — four  per 
cent.  This  change  was  made  to  such  an  extent  as  to  save 
annually  more  than  thirteen  million  dollars  interest  to 
the  people.  Mr.  Secretary  Windom,  acting  on  the  same 
principles,  was  able  to  save  yearly  to  the  Treasury  more 
than  fifteen  million  dollars , from  reduced  interest  on 
bonds.  This  was  accomplished  on  the  1st  of  October, 


FINANCIAL  SUCCESS. 


1083 


1881,  when  the  required  operations  were  completed. 
This  was  done  also  at  the  option  of  the  bond-holders, 
either  by  paying  the  face  value  of  the  bonds — five  and 
six  per  cents — or  by  refunding  them  at  the  rate  of  three 
and  one  half  *per  cent  per  annum. 

To  accommodate  foreign  bondholders,  and  to  prevent 
the  drain  of  coin  from  the  Treasury,  an  agency  for  the 
exchange  of  bonds  was  established  in  London — there  the 
plan  was  equally  successful.  In  the  words  of  Secretary 
Windom,  this  portion  of  the  National  debt  is  reduced  “to 
a loan  payable  at  the  option  of  the  Government,  and  bear- 
ing interest  at  only  thi'eeand  a half  per  cent  per  annum. 
The  debt  itself  meanwhile  has  been  diminishing  for  the 
last  few  years  at  the  annual  rate  of  more  than  fifty  mil- 
lion dollars.  At  the  close  of  the  Rebellion  the  National 
debt  was  $2,844,619,626,  and  the  annual  interest  on  the 
same  was  $150,000,000  ; the  debt  is  now  much  dimin- 
ished, and  the  annual  interest  on  the  same  is  only 
$75,000,000.  The  total  revenue  for  the  fiscal  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1881,  was  $363,000,000 ; while  the  balance 
of  trade  at  the  close  of  the  same  time  was  $257,000,000 
in  favor  of  the  United  States. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  integrity  of  the  officials  in  the 
Internal  Revenue  Department,  it  is  stated  that  of  the 
more  than  six  hundred  million  dollars  collected  in  that 
service  during  the  preceding  five  years,  not  one  dollar 
failed  to  reach  the  Treasury.1  And,  also,  as  proof  of  the 
economy  and  industry  of  the  people,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  during  the  year  ending  May  30,  1881,  there  were 
deposited  in  the  Saving  Banks  in  the  Union  nearly  eight 
hundred  and  eiglity-two  million  dollars.2  It  is  estimated 
that  the  number  of  depositors  is  about  two  million  five 
hundred  thousand. 

On  July  2,  1881,  the  American  people  were  shocked 

1 Commissioner  Raum’s  Report,  Dec.  5,  1881 . 

2 Banker’s  Magazine,  Sept.,  1881,  p.  190. 


CHAP. 

LXYIII 


1881, 

Oct. 

1. 


1865, 

Aug. 

31. 

1881. 


June 

80. 


1084 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  by  the  announcement  that  the  President  had  been  mor- 

tally  wounded  by  a pistol  shot  of  an  assassin  named 

July  * ^u^eau-  Rumor  soon  after  carried  the  report  through- 
out the  land  that  the  President  was  no  more.  The  mani- 
festations of  sorrow  were  intense,  for  by  his  generous  and 
noble  nature  he  had  secured  the  respect  of  good  men, 
and  the  love  of  those  who  knew  him  best.  Some  hours 
later  the  telegraph  spread  the  news  that  he  still  survived, 
but  there  was  little  hope  of  his  recovery ; he  himself 
bearing  up  against  despondency  by  his  cheerful  Christian 
fortitude.  On  his  asking  the  attending  physician  as 
to  his  injury,  the  reply  was,  “ You  have  a chance  for  re- 
covery.” Then  he  said  cheerfully,  “ Doctor,  we'll  take 
that  chance.”  He  murmured  once  and  once  only,  “ I 
don’t  know  why  they  should  shoot  me  ; I have  injured 
no  one.”  The  sympathies  of  the  whole  civilized  world 
were  greatly  enlisted.  From  the  heads  of  the  Govern- 
ments of  Europe  and  from  those  of  the  far  East,  came 
messages  of  condolence.  Conventions  of  men  of  science 
and  religious  assemblies  in  this  land  or  in  Europe,  which 
happened  to  be  in  session,  sent  expressions  of  sympathy  ; 
from  the  Patriarch  of  the  Armenian  Church  at  Constanti- 
nople, and  from  His  Holiness  at  Pome,  came  messages  of 
kind  words,  and  Sir  Moses  Montefiore  telegraphed  from 
London  to  his  brethren  in  Palestine  the  request  that 
prayers  might  be  offered  in  behalf  of  the  President  in  the 
synagogues  of  the  four  holy  cities.1  Davs  of  fasting  and 
prayer  were  appointed  by  the  Governors  of  the  respec- 
tive States,  and  throughout  the  whole  Union  prevailed 
an  earnest  spirit  of  supplication  to  God,  modified  by  a 
feeling  that  found  expression  in  the  words,  u Thy  will 
be  done.”  The  American  people  were  especially  grati- 
fied to  learn  of  the  depth  of  kind  feeling  that  prevailed 
in  England.  In  numbers  of  the  churches  and  cathedrals 
special  services  of  prayer  were  held,  and  the  Queen  her- 
self sent  a personal  dispatch  to  Mrs.  Garfield  saying,  “ I 
1 Jerusalem,  Hebron,  Tiberias  and  Safed. 


THE  NATION’S  INVALID. 


1085 


i,m  most  anxious  to  know  liow  the  President  is  to-day,  chap. 

* ' LXVI1I 

and  to  express  my  deep  sympathy  with  you  both.”  ! 

The  President  lay  at  the  White  House  for  sixty-six  1881  • 
days,  and  often  apparently  at  the  verge  of  death.  It  was 
essential  that  he  should  be  removed  from  the  debilitating 
influence  of  that  climate  to  an  atmosphere  more  cool  and 
more  health-inspiring.  Long  Branch,  on  the  ocean  shore 
was  decided  upon.  The  Pennsylvania  Pailway  furnished 
the  train  and  its  equipments — their  most  commodious 
and  sumptuous  car  and  three  others.  The  Nation’s  inva- 
lid was  placed  on  board  by  tender  hands,  and  the  train  at  gept 
6.30  a.m.  moved  quietly  off,  and  even  when  under  full  6. 
speed,  with  scarcely  a perceptible  vibration.  So  admirable 
were  the  arrangements,  the  right-of-way  was  given 
over  six  roads  ; a pilot-engine  preceding  the  train  by 
twenty  minutes,  and  lest  the  patient  should  be  disturbed, 
not  a bell  was  rung  nor  a signal-wdiistle  blown.  The 
train  for  a portion  of  the  time  made  seventy  miles  an 
hour,  stopping  only  to  replenish  water  and  fuel.  Along 
the  route,  especially  through  the  cities,  the  people  in  sym- 
pathizing crowds  stood  silently  by  as  the  train  passed,  and 
none  the  less  was  this  interest  manifested  at  the  minor 
stations.  This  feeling  was  not  limited  to  the  multitudes 
that  saw  the  train  gliding  along  swiftly  and  almost  noise- 
lessly as  if  conscious  of  the  burden  it  was  bearing,  but 
the  telegraph,  as  if  in  sympathy,  laid  aside  business,  to 
carry  messages  over  the  Union  from  almost  every  station 
passed,  telling  the  hour  and  the  condition  of  the  patient, 
as  reported  by  the  physicians  on  written  slips  of  paper, 
which  were  thrown  from  the  train.  Thousands  upon 
thousands  in  the  cities  watched  these  bulletins  as  they 
appeared  every  few  minutes.  At  length,  after  passing 
over  nearly  two  hundred  and  forty  miles,  the  cottage  was 
reached  ; and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  the  President  was 
safely  carried  within.  Here  were  witnessed  similar 
manifestations;  crowds  of  people  had  assembled  and 


1086 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXVIII. 


1881. 


Sept. 

19. 


Sept. 

26. 


were  silently  awaiting  tlie  arrival  of  the  train,  and  also 
carriages  filled  with  summer  visitors  from  the  neighbor- 
ing watering-places,  while  in  shore  lay  twenty  or  thirty 
pleasure  yachts,  whose  decks  were  covered  with  specta- 
tors. 

The  removal  was  in  vain  ; he  lingered  till  the  19th  of 
September,  then  passed  away.  President  Garfield  died 
at  35  minutes  past  10  p.m.,  and  the  Yice-President,  Ches- 
ter Alan  Arthur,  in  the  presence  of  a few  gentlemen,  at 
his  residence  in  He w York  City,  assumed  the  office  of 
President  at  2 a.m.  on  the  20th,  Judge  John  B.  Brady, 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  that  State,  administering  the 
oath  of  office. 

The  President’s  remains  were  taken  to  Washington, 
where  they  lay  in  state  for  two  days  in  the  Botunda 
under  the  dome  of  the  Capitol ; thence  they  were  trans- 
ferred to  their  last  resting-place  in  Lake  Yiew  Cemetery, 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  The  funeral  train  from  Long  Branch 
to  Washington,  and  thence  to  Cleveland,  elicited  every- 
where evidences  of  the  Nation’s  sorrow.  While  at  Wash- 
ington a magnificent  wreath  of  flowers  was  brought 
from  the  British  Legation,  and  placed  on  the  casket ; the 
card  attached  read,  “ Queen  Yictoria  to  the  memory  of 
the  late  President  Garfield.  An  expression  of  her  sorrow 
and  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Garfield  and  the  American 
Xation.”  The  manifestations  of  grief  were  remarkable 
throughout  the  land  ; public  buildings,  places  of  business, 
private  dwellings,  locomotives  and  trains,  were  draped  in 
mourning;  and  even  more  expressive  were  the  emblems 
of  grief  in  the  simplest  forms,  as  everywhere  exhibited 
by  those  of  the  humbler  classes  in  respect  to  wealth. 

For  eighty  long  days  President  Garfield  was  in  the 
thoughts  of  the  people  as  a heroic  sufferer ; and  he  was 
cherished  in  their  hearts  as  one  of  themselves.  His 
domestic  life  was  ennobling ; it  was  that  of  the  Christian 
home — the  corner-stone  of  the  Nation’s  moral  edifice. 


THE  INCIDENT. 


1087 


The  Convention  in  which  he  was  nominated  for  the  Presi-  chap. 

dency,  in  its  perplexity  of  clashing  opinions,  instinctively 

turned  to  him  at  last,  as  the  one  man  in  whom  they  all 
could  confide.  He  never  sought  an  office  ; it  always  came 
to  him. 

An  incident  in  President  Garfield’s  life  is  still  more 
striking  to-day  than  at  the  time  it  occurred.1  Congress  1865, 
had  adjourned,  and  he  was  in  Hew  York  City  when  the  15*' 
news  came  of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  On  leav- 
ing his  hotel  he  strolled  down  to  Wall  Street,  not  being 
aware  that  business  was  suspended,  and  instead  a mass- 
meeting of  business  men  was  to  be  held  in  front  of  the 
Exchange.  A crowd  amounting  to  many  thousands  was 
already  assembled  ; a friend  recognizing  Garfield  invited 
him  to  the  platform.  Speeches  were  made  delineating 
the  enormity  of  the  crime,  as  well  as  the  causes  which  led 
to  its  commission  ; the  exasperated  multitude  swayed 
with  emotion,  and  was  apparently  being  wrought  up  to  a 
frenzy  of  excitement ; here  and  there  in  the  crowd  mur- 
mured words  of  vengeance  were  heard.  Presently  there 
appeared  borne  aloft  two  long  pieces  of  scantling  crossed 
like  the  letter  X ; from  their  junction  hung  a rope  wfitli 
a slip-noose  attached.  A group  of  determined  men 
accompanied  this  significant  emblem  as  it  moved  slowly 
among  the  people  ; suddenly  some  one  shouted  out  giving 
orders  where  it  should  go  ; in  a twinkling  the  cross-beams 
commenced  moving  in  the  direction  named,  followed 
by  an  immense  crowd.  What  would  have  been  the  re- 
sult we  may  imagine,  if  these  enraged  citizens  had  not 
been  diverted  from  their  design  of  vengeance ; a tele- 
gram from  Washington  had  come  a few  minutes  before, 
saying,  “ Seward  is  dying.”  This  announcement  added 
strength  to  their  determination.  Garfield  on  the  impulse 
sprang  to  his  feet,  and  seizing  one  of  the  small  flags. 


1 Edmund  Kirke’s  Life  of  Garfield,  p.  25. 


1088 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AlIERICAX  PEOPLE. 


chap,  ’waved  it  till  he  attracted  the  attention  of  the  moving 
____  src  1 : '..inking  it  was  another  telegram  they  halted  in 
I860,  silence,  then  pointing  toward  heaven,  and  as  if  inspired 
with  reverential  awe.  he  slowly  and  distinctly  exclaimed  : 
“ Fellow  citizens  ! Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about 
Him  ! His  pavilion  is  dark  waters,  and  thick  clouds  of 
the  skies!  Justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of 
His  throne ! Mercy  and  truth  shall  go  before  His  face  ! 
Fellow  citizens ! God  reigns ; and  the  Government  at 
Washington  still  lives/’  The  effect  was  marvelous. 
The  cross-beams  were  lowered  ; vengeance  was  left  to 
God.  When  afterward  asked  what  words  he  had  used, 
he  answered,  u I cannot  tell,  I could  not  have  told  five 
minutes  afterward.  I only  know  I drew  the  lightning 
from  that  crowd  and  brought  it  back  to  reason.” 

The  American  people  look  upon  those  who  rise  from 
humble  stations  to  success  in  life  as  the  natural  outgrowth 
of  their  systems  of  education,  of  self-respect  induced  by 
political  liberty,  and  of  the  underlying  principle  that  the 
pathway  to  success  is  open  to  every  one  in  the  sphere  to 
which  he  is  adapted  by  nature ; be  it  in  the  humbler 
walks  of  life,  or  in  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility. 
Their  institutions  supply  the  conditions  : success  depends 
upon  the  talents,  the  industry,  and  the  integrity  of  the 
individual  himself ; and  those  thus  trained  constitute,  in 
whatever  sphere  they  move,  what  the  better  portion  of 
the  American  people  conceive  as  their  ideal  of  nobility — 
that  based  on  moral  and  intellectual  worth.  The  pecu- 
liarity of  this  mode  of  training  citizens  has  attracted  the 
attention  of  thinking  minds  abroad.  Says  Dr.  Tait,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  after  giving  a sketch  of  the  char- 
acter of  Garfield : **  All  this  was  calculated  to  enlist  our 
sympathy,  and  then  we  were  taught  to  trace  a career, 
such  as  England  knows  nothing  of,  and  to  wonder  at  the 
mode  in  which  great  men  are  formed  in  a country  so  like 
and  yet  so  dissimilar  from  our  own.  All  this  I must  say 


PURE  MORALS  DEMANDED. 


1089 


to  most  of  us  was  quite  new.  It  opened  up  a picture  of 
manhood,  such  as  in  this  country  we  were  little  acquainted 
with.” 

A marked  change,  which  has  greatly  influenced  poli- 
tics, has  been  going  on  in  our  country  for  nearly  half  a 
century.  The  best  elements  in  American  society  deem 
it  of  primary  importance  that  statesmen,  in  addition  to 
their  qualifications  as  such,  should  be  pure  in  their  do- 
mestic life.  The  national  conventions  of  political  organ- 
izations on  occasions  when  the  whole  people  are  to  vote, 
are  compelled  to  nominate  candidates  of  unblemished 
moral  lives  for  the  higher  offices  in  the  State  govern- 
ments as  well  as  for  the  Presidency  and  the  Vice-Presi- 
dency ; on  no  point  are  the  people  so  strenuous  as  on  this. 
They  repudiate  the  theory  that  moral  character  is  not  an 
important  element  in  the  qualifications  of  public  officials, 
they  demand  correct  morals  as  well  as  statesmanship. 

It  is  scarcely  fair  to  compare  this  appreciation  of  mo- 
rality by  the  vast  majority  of  the  American  people,  when 
they  vote  for  their  highest  officials,  with  that  of  those  na- 
tions who  have  no  voice  in  the  selection  of  their  supreme 
rulers;  the  latter  claiming  the  sovereignty,  not  on  the 
will  of  the  governed  but  on  the  accidental  claims  of  birth 
alone.  Though  the  domestic  example  of  a royal  ruler 
may  be  injurious  to  the  morals  of  the  people,  the  latter 
have  no  redress.  Sometimes  ardent  advocates  of  royalty 
attempt  to  explain  away  the  equivocal  position  of  such  a 
ruler  by  endeavoring  to  separate  the  private  moral  char- 
acter of  the  individual  from  his  public  or  political  charac- 
ter. There  may  be  instances  in  which  this  evidence  of 
correct  moral  appreciation  is  not  so  markedly  clear  as 
when  the  whole  American  people  demand  pure  morals 
in  their  candidates  for  the  highest  offices  of  the  nation. 
There  may  be  Congressional  or  Assembly  districts  that 
occasionally  send  representatives  whom  the  majority  of 
the  whole  people  would  repudiate.  This  distinction  is 


CHAP. 
LX  VI 11. 


1881. 


1080 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXVIII 


1881. 


so  clearly  defined  in  practice,  that  one  may  be  able  from 
the  character  of  the  representative  himself  to  divine 
quite  clearly  that  of  his  especial  constituents — those  who 
voted  for  him. 

Within  the  space  of  forty  years  four  Presidents  have 
died  in  office,  all  virtually  belonging  to  the  same  political 
organization.  Of  these  the  last  two  were  assassinated,  each 
of  whom  was  remarkable  for  his  kindly  genial  nature, 
and  each  seemed  incapable  of  designedly  doing  that  which 
might  make  personal  enemies.  We  must  look  elsewhere 
for  the  causes  that  led  to  these  dire  results.  In  the  case 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  the  influences  that  induced  his  assassina- 
tion were  the  outgrowth  of  that  spirit  which  had  for 
generations  outraged  the  most  sacred  rights  of  humanity, 
and,  struggling  in  rebellion,  became  maliciously  frenzied 
when  its  power  was  annihilated.  The  hatred  which  found 
expression  in  publishing  vile  epithets  and  vulgar  abuse 
of  President  Lincoln,  stimulated  the  assassin  to  imbrue 
his  hands  in  the  blood  of  the  best  friend  of  the  surrendered 
South.  Infinitely  less  excusable  were  the  influences  that 
led  to  the  death  of  Garfield.  There  is  abroad  a spirit 
of  assassination  of  character — which  honorable  men  hold 
more  dear  than  life — as  well  as  of  persons ; the  former 
inspired  by  those  in  a higher  social  scale,  the  latter  among 
the  low  and  vicious.  It  was  misrepresentation  and  un- 
relenting abuse  of  the  late  President  that  influenced  the 
groveling  mind  of  a conceited  and  disappointed  office- 
seeker  to  murder  him.  The  question  may  be  asked,  which 
is  inherently  the  greater  criminal,  the  slanderer  in  high 
position  or  the  assassin  in  low  ? 

It  is  incumbent  upon  the  American  people  to  banish 
the  spirit  of  slander  and  abuse  by  showing  their  condem- 
nation of  the  crime.  The  disrespect  shown  to  legitimate 
authority  has  an  undermining  effect  upon  the  morals  of 
the  people,  and  has  on  a larger  scale  the  same  tendency 
to  disorganize  society  that  disobedience  to  parents  has  to 


THE  SPOILS  SYSTEM. 


1091 


destroy  the  sacredness  of  home  and  injure  permanently 
the  character  of  children.  The  effect  of  these  influences 
is  to  corrupt  the  inner  life  of  the  nation  by  a sort  of 
moral  blood-poisoning ; it  is  inconsistent  for  citizens  to 
deprecate  slanderous  publications,  and  at  the  same  time 
by  their  patronage  encourage  them. 

So  much  misrepresentation  and  falsehood  are  usually 
published  by  partisans,  that  intelligent  people  distrust  all 
statements  on  political  subjects  until  they  are  verified ; 
to  such  an  extent  does  this  feeling  prevail,  that  even  gen- 
tlemen of  opposite  parties  will  take  the  word  of  each  other 
on  business  affairs,  but  hesitate  to  do  so  on  the  subject  of 
politics.  Were  the  u Spoils  System,”  so  called,  eliminated 
from  the  canvassing  of  questions  of  national  policy,  the 
temptation  would  be  removed  either  for  the  misrepresen- 
tation of  facts  or  for  the  slander  of  personal  character. 
Such  questions  would  then  be  calmly  discussed,  both 
parties  being  desirous  to  arrive  at  the  truth  and  adopt  the 
policy  best  suited  to  the  whole  country.  The  discussion 
might  be  earnest,  but  should  no  more  induce  undue  ex- 
citement than  resolving  any  ordinary  question  of  political 
economy.  If  the  minor  offices  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States  were  conducted  on  the  same  principles  that 
govern  business  men  or  corporations  in  managing  their 
affairs,  there  would  be  no  inducement  for  tricky  dema- 
gogues to  promise  offices  as  rewards  for  personal  services. 
The  minor  officers  have  only  to  perform  their  respective 
duties,  since  they  have  no  more  concern  with  the  policy 
of  the  government  than  the  general  interest  that  other 
citizens  have  who  may  not  be  thus  employed,  or  that  the 
clerk  has  with  the  management  of  the  firm  or  corporation 
in  whose  service  he  is,  with  the  exception  that  they  have 
their  votes  like  all  citizens  on  that  policy  which  the 
government  is  about  to  adopt. 

The  case  of  the  Cabinet  or  heads  of  departments  in 
the  United  States  Government  is  essentially  different. 


CHAP. 

LXV1II 


1881. 


1092 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXVHI. 


1881. 


They  ought  to  he  in  sympathy  with  the  principles  of 
the  party  in  power, — that  is,  of  the  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple ; and  to  secure  harmony  they  should  be  appointed  as 
they  are  now.  It  would  be  inconsistent,  and  would  de- 
feat the  will  of  this  majority,  to  have  these  officials  refuse 
to  carry  out  the  policy  virtually  decided  upon  in  the 
election  that  placed  the  advocates  of  that  policy  in  power. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  centre  of  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  and  the  centre  of  its  population  are  both 
near  the  thirty-ninth  degree  of  north  latitude.  The  for- 
mer is  not  far  from  Abilene,  Kansas,  and  the  latter,  as 
found  by  the  census  of  1880,  is  in  Kentucky,  about  eight 
miles  west  by  south  of  Cincinnati.  In  the  estimate  of 
territory,  Alaska  has  been  omitted.  According  to  the 
first  census  (1790),  the  centre  of  population  was  east  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  about  twenty-two  miles  from  Baltimore, 
and  a short  distance  north  of  the  degree  just  mentioned ; 
it  has  since  been  moving  westward,  but  near  the  same 
parallel  of  latitude,  meanwhile  crossing  it  four  times. 

For  thirty  years  this  centre  remained  east  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies;  but  from  1S20  to  1830  it  swayed  south  of  the 
39th  parallel.  During  that  time  Florida  was  obtained 
and  large  settlements  were  made  in  the  Gulf  States ; then 
from  1830  to  1810  it  crossed  to  the  north  of  that  parallel, 
a large  population — native  and  foreign — having  poured 
into  the  States  south  and  west  of  the  Great  Lakes ; from 
1810  to  1850  it  crossed  to  the  south  of  the  line — meantime 
Texas  having  been  annexed ; from  1850  to  1S60,  Califor- 
nia was  obtained,  and  the  centre  moved  west  faster  than 
usual,  crossed  the  Ohio  and  to  the  north  of  the  parallel ; 
from  1860  to  1870  it  still  moved  west  by  north ; while 
from  1870  to  1880  it  moved  southwest,  coming  very  near 
the  parallel.  From  1880  to  1890  it  took  a northwest 
direction,  across  the  Ohio  into  the  State  of  Indiana,  to  a 
point  about  fifty  miles  west  by  north  from  Cincinnati. 


CHAPTER  LXIX. 

Arthur’s  Administration. 

Sketch  of  Life. — The  two  Law  Cases. — The  Second  Oath  of  Office. — The 
Inaugural. — Destructive  Fires. — Yorktown  Celebration. — Meeting  of 
Congress  and  the  Message. — Arctic  Explorations. 

Chester  Alan  Arthur  was  born  in  October  5,  1830, 
in  Franklin  County,  Vermont.  When  a boy  his  father, 
an  Irishman  and  a Baptist  clergyman,  removed  to  the 
State  of  New  York.  Young  Arthur  was  fitted  for  college 
under  the  supervision  of  his  father,  a ripe  scholar  in  the 
classics.  He  entered  Union  College,  N.  Y.,  when  only 
fifteen  years  of  age,  and  took  class  honors  each  year.  He 
taught  meanwhile  occasionally  to  aid  in  his  support  as  a 
student,  but  keeping  up  with  his  class  in  his  studies ; on 
graduating  he  ranked  in  scholarship  with  the  first  six  of  a 
class  of  one  hundred  members.  After  his  graduation 
Arthur  took  charge  for  a time  of  an  Academy  in  North 
Pownal,  Vermont,  in  which  institution  Garfield  afterward 
taught  when  he  was  a student  in  Williams  College.  He 
studied  law  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion in  the  City  of  Newr  York. 

Mr.  Arthur  became  identified  with  two  cases  of  law 
in  which  he  was  successful,  and  the  decision  in  both  in- 
stances had  great  influence.  One  was  the  famous  Lem- 
mon case,  in  which  a gentleman  of  that  name  brought 
eight  slaves  from  Norfolk,  Va.,  to  New  York  City,  in- 
tending to  transfer  them  in  a sailing  vessel  to  Texas, 
whither  he  himself  was  migrating.  At  the  solicitation  of 
a committee  of  the  colored  people,  Arthur,  by  writ  of 


CHAP. 

LXIX. 


1830. 


1852. 


1094 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LUX 


1852. 


July. 

1862. 


habeas  corpus , applied  to  the  court  and  succeeded  in 
securing  their  freedom,  as  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  passed 
two  years  before  did  not  apply,  these  negroes  not  being 
“fugitives.”  To  aid  him  in  the  case  Mr.  Arthur  secured 
the  services  of  Wm.  M.  Evarts.  The  other  case  had  a 
similar  result.  On  a Sunday  a respectable  and  neatly 
dressed  colored  woman  was  returning  from  her  duties  as 
superintendent  of  a colored  Sunday-school,  when  she 
stepped  on  board  a street  car,  paid  her  fare  and  took 
her  seat.  Presently  a “ drunken  white  man,”  with  im- 
precations, insisted  that  she  should  not  ride  in  the  same 
car  with  him.  The  conductor  asked  her  to  leave,  she  re- 
fused, a struggle  ensued,  the  police  were  called  in  and  she 
was  forcibly  ejected  from  the  car,  her  dress  being  almost 
torn  to  shreds  in  the  struggle.  To  Mr.  Arthur  she  ap- 
pealed for  redress ; he  undertook  her  case  and  obtained  a 
verdict  against  the  railway  for  five  hundred  dollars  dam- 
ages. The  company  promptly  paid  the  money,  and  ever 
after  the  colored  people  on  equal  conditions  with  other 
citizens  have  ridden  in  the  public  conveyances  of  the 
city  and  State  of  New  York. 

When  the  Rebellion  began,  Edwin  D.  Morgan,  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  New  York,  appointed  Mr.  Arthur 
Inspector-General,  and  soon  after  to  the  office  of  Quarter- 
master-General, a position  of  great  responsibility.  Though 
the  war  accounts  of  New  York  were  so  much  larger  than 
those  of  any  other  State,  yet  they  were  the  first  handed 
in  at  Washington,  and  when  audited  were  found  perfect, 
not  a dollar  but  was  accounted  for.  When  the  Governors 
of  the  loyal  States  privately  assembled  in  the  city  of  New 
York  to  concert  measures  in  aid  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment, Mr.  Arthur  was  the  only  gentleman  invited  to  meet 
with  them  in  consultation  as  to  the  best  means  of  aiding 
the  loyal  cause  with  men  and  material,  his  remarkable 
executive  ability  being  thus  recognized.  When  appointed 
to  the  Collectorship  of  the  port  of  New  York,  he  managed 


THE  INAUGURAL — FOREST  FIRES. 


1095 


the  affairs  of  the  office  so  perfectly,  that  when  renomi-  chap, 
nated  four  years  afterward  he  was  unanimously  confirmed  LXIX 
by  the  Senate  without  reference  to  the  usual  committee.  1881. . 

After  Garfield’s  death,  in  order  to  have  a record  of 
the  new  official  inauguration  at  the  Capital  it  was 
thought  better  to  have  Mr.  Arthur  take  the  oath  of 
office  also  at  Washington.  This  was  administered  by 
Chief  Justice  Waite  in  the  presence  of  the  Cabinet,  ex- 
Presidents  Grant  and  Hayes,  Gen.  Sherman,  Senator 
Sherman  and  Justice  Strong  of  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court. 

The  ceremony  was  informal  but  very  solemn.  The  Presi- 
dent delivered  a brief  inaugural.  After  alluding  feeling- 
ly to  the  sad  event  that  had  placed  him  in  his  present 
position  he  says  : “ All  the  noble  aspirations  of  my  lament- 
ed predecessor  which  found  expression  in  his  life,  the 
measures  devised  and  suggested  during  his  brief  admin- 
istration to  correct  abuses  and  enforce  economy,  to  ad- 
vance prosperity  and  promote  the  general  welfare,  to 
insure  domestic  security  and  maintain  friendly  and  honor- 
able relations  with  the  nations  of  the  earth,  will  be  gar- 
nered in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  it  will  be  my  earnest 
endeavor  to  profit,  and  to  see  that  the  nation  shall  profit 
by  his  example  and  experience.” 

Destructive  forest  fires  occurred  in  the  State  of  Michi- 
gan during  the  first  week  in  September.  A terrific  hur- 
ricane was  blowing  at  the  time,  and  the  fire  leaped  from 
the  forest  across  the  clearings  and  burned  the  houses 
and  barns  of  the  inhabitants.  Several  hundred  persons 
perished  from  the  flames  and  exposure,  and  the  cattle  and 
other  domestic  animals  died  by  thousands.  It  is  estimated 
that  several  hundred  square  miles  of  territory  were  liter- 
ally burned  over,  and  whole  villages  were  destroyed  al- 
most entirely.  As  is  usual  in  such  cases,  the  people’s 
sympathies  were  enlisted  and  assistance  in  the  form  of 
money  and  needed  supplies  flowed  in  to  aid  the  sufferers. 

Since  the  Centennial  celebration  of  the  conflict  at 


1096 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIX 


1881. 


Lexington,  April  19,  1775,  there  have  been  many  others 
partaking  in  some  instances  of  a local  rather  than  a national 
interest.  A few  were  national,  as  they  commemorated 
events  which  had  a commanding  influence  upon  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Revolution.  “The  Centennial”  in  1876,  be- 
cause of  the  day  it  commemorated,  was  purely  national  in 
its  character,  and  as  such  was  by  far  the  most  important ; 
then  came  the  celebration  at  Saratoga.,1  which,  because 
of  its  influence,  has  been  reckoned  among  the  fifteen  de- 
cisive battles  o i the  world,2  as  it  was  this  victory  which 
decided  the  French  government  to  acknowledge  the  In- 
dependence of  the  United  States.  Then  followed  the 
treaty  with  that  power,  and  the  alliance  which  in  due 
time  brought  aid  both  by  sea  and  land  to  the  decisive 
campaign,  which  ended  with  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis 
on  the  19th  of  October,  1781.  This  surrender  being  the 
most  important  of  all  events  of  that  period  except  the 
Declaration,  its  anniversary  became  more  than  usually  in- 
teresting to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  as  that  vic- 
tory was  the  virtual  end  of  the  war.  The  celebration 
was  % rendered  still  more  striking  by  the  presence  of  the 
invited  guests  of  the  nation — Frenchmen  and  Germans. 
They  were  the  descendants  or  relatives  of  the  officers 
belonging  to  these  nations,  who  in  that  day  aided  in  the 
cause — Lafayette,  Rochambeau,  De  Grasse  and  the  Baron 
von  Steuben.3 

The  Forty-seventh  Congress  assembled  on  Monday, 
December  5th ; when  both  Houses  were  organized  Presi- 
dent Arthur  sent  in  his  first  annual  Message.  After  al- 
luding to  the  bereavement  of  the  nation  in  the  loss  of 
President  Garfield,  he  proceeds  to  discuss  the  affairs  of 
the  country.  In  relation  to  the  neutrality  and  guarantee 
of  the  Panama  Canal  he  assumes  the  same  position  that 
was  taken  by  President  Garfield,  and  enunciated  by  Sec- 

' Hist.  p.  481.  2 Ches  ey‘s  Fifteen  Battles 

3 See  Patton's  Memorial  of  the  Yorktown  Celebration. 


THE  ANNUAL  MESSAGE — PROSPERITY. 


1097 


retary  Blaine  in  liis  note  to  Mr.  Lowell,  our  Minister  to  chap. 
Great  Britain.  The  Message  says : “ My  lamented  pre-  LX1X- 
decessor  felt  it  his  duty  to  place  before  the  European  1881. 
powers  the  reasons  which  make  the  prior  guarantee  of 
the  United  States  indispensable,  and  for  which  the  inter- 
jection of  any  foreign  guarantee  might  be  regarded  as  a 
superfluous  and  unfriendly  act.”  “ 1 have  not  hesitated 
to  supplement  the  action  of  my  predecessor  by  proposing 
to  her  Majesty’s  Government  the  modification  of  that 
instrument  (the  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty,  1850),  and  the 
abrogation  of  such  clauses  thereof  as  do  not  comport  with 
the  obligations  of  the  United  States  toward  Colombia, 
or  with  the  vital  needs  of  the  two  friendly  parties  to  the 
compact.” 

On  Civil  Service  Beform  the  Message  says  : “ Original 
appointments  should  be  based  upon  ascertained  fitness. 

The  tenure  of  office  should  be  stable.  Positions  of  re- 
sponsibility should  so  far  as  practicable  be  filled  by  the 
promotion  of  worthy  and  efficient  officers.”  On  the  In- 
dian question  he  recommended  that  lands  or  homesteads 
should  be  allotted  in  severalty  to  such  Indians  as  desire 
it  to  induce  them  to  become  civilized ; he  also  urged  that 
liberal  appropriations  be  made  to  support  schools  for 
Indian  children. 

All  the  members  of  Garfield’s  Cabinet,  except  Sec. 
Lincoln,  resigned.  The  new  officers  were  : F.  T.  Fre- 
linghuysen  of  N.  J.,  Secretary  of  State;  C.  T.  Folger  of 
FT.  Y.,  Treasury  ; ¥m.  E.  Chandler  of  Vt.,  Navy  ; Henry 
M.  Teller  of  Col.,  Interior ; T.  O.  Howe  of  Wis.,  Post- 
master-General Benj.  H.  Brewster  of  Penn.,  Attorney- 
General. 

The  country  continued  to  advance  in  its  prosperity 
during  the  whole  of  the  year  1881.  The  income  from 
Internal  Bevenue  was  unprecedentedly  Jarge,  owing 
to  our  industrial  progress,  and  the  consequent  increase  of 
general  business  throughout  the  country,  as  well  as  that 


1098 


CHAP. 

LXIX 


1881. 


1860. 
July  6. 


Aug. 

20. 


1861. 

May 

11. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICANS’  PEOPLE. 

derived  from  duties  on  imported  merchandise.  The  sur- 
plus of  these  importations  has  been  very  largely  of  arti- 
cles of  luxury,  such  as  textile  fabrics  of  an  unusually 
expensive  character ; works  of  art  of  almost  every  variety, 
evincing  a tendency  in  those  having  the  means  to  gratify 
their  taste  in  the  adornments  of  persons  or  of  dwellings. 
These  heavy  importations  of  luxuries  must  aid  in  turning 
the  balance  of  trade  against  us,  seeing  that  our  exports 
may  not  be  hereafter  so  large  as  for  the  last  few  years, 
svhen  the  crops  of  Europe  were  comparatively  short. 
Financial  prudence  takes  alarm  at  this  unusual  expendi- 
ture.1 

The  last  six  months  of  the  year  paid  off  more  than 
$75,000,000  of  the  national  debt,  which  on  Jan.  1,  1882, 
was  in  round  numbers  about  $1,703,000,000. 

The  American  people  have  taken  an  interest  in  explo- 
rations, not  only  in  the  Antarctic  Ocean,  but  also  in  the 
Arctic,2  in  efforts  to  reach  the  North  Pole.  After  I)r. 
Kane's  return  from  his  unsuccessful  attempt  to  rescue 
Sir  John  Franklin,  Dr.  Isaac  J.  Hayes,  who  accompanied 
him  in  capacity  of  surgeon,  organized  an  expedition  to 
explore  what  he  believed  to  be  an  open  sea  around  the 
Pole.  This  theory  is  held  by  many,  though  it  has  not 
yet  been  verified ; thus  far  the  discoveries  made  do  not 
prove  its  fallacy.  Dr.  Hayes  was  aided  by  private  sub- 
scriptions ; he  sailed  from  Boston  direct  for  the  west 
coast  of  Greenland,  arriving  at  Upernavik  (74&  north)  in 
that  country  on  the  12th  of  August.  His  picked  crew 
consisted  of  only  fourteen  men,  but  here'  he  obtained  a 
few  more.  He  sailed  again,  expecting  to  reach  a point 
about  79°  or  80°  north,  but  was  frozen  in  in  latitude  78°. 
By  means  of  sledges  and  with  much  toil  he  reached  Grin- 
nell  Land,  81°  35'  north  lat.  and  west  long.  70°  30',  be- 
yond which  further  progress  was  impeded  on  account  of 
rotten  ice  and  cracks.  This  was  the  most  northerly  point 


1 Hist.  p.  1059. 


s Hist.  pp.  742,  841. 


ARCTIC  EXPEDITIONS. 


1099 


thus  far  reached.  From  a high  peak  of  land  in  the  vicin- 
ity Dr.  Hayes  saw  what  he  believed  to  be  the  open  sea 
surrounding  the  Pole,  but  still  further  north  appeared 
other  high  land. 

Captain  Charles  F.  Hall,  a practical  whaleman  who  be- 
came interested  in  the  subject,  set  out  on  an  exploration 
from  Hew  London,  Conn.,  in  1860  in  a whale-ship ; un- 
fortunately losing  his  boat  he  was  compelled  to  return 
without  accomplishing  his  purpose.  Nothing  daunted, 
he  organized  another  expedition  and  sailed  for  the  Arctic 
regions  in  1864.  He  penetrated  north  of  Hudson’s  Bay, 
and  brought  home  many  relics  of  Sir  John  Franklin  and 
much  important  information.  Captain  Hall  spent  five 
years  among  the  Esquimaux ; learning  their  language 
and  obtaining  a knowledge  of  their  customs  ; he  returned 
to  the  United  States  in  1869.  He  nowr  received  aid  from 
Congress  and  again  sailed  in  the  schooner  Polaris , 400 
tons  burden.  He  reached  81°  38'  north,  but  impeded 
by  ice  he  made  a sledge  expedition,  and  reached  82°  16' 
— about  502  statute  miles  from  the  Pole  ; he  returned  to 
the  ship,  where  soon  after  he  was  taken  ill  and  suddenly 
died.  Captain  Tyson  of  Hall’s  crew  with  eighteen  others 
became  separated  from  the  latter,  when  suddenly  the  ice 
on  which  they  were,  separated  from  the  main  field  and 
they  were  carried  away ; thus  they  floated,  in  different 
directions,  about  two  thousand  miles,  and  wTere  finally 
rescued  by  the  British  steamship  Tigress. 

Lieutenant  Frederick  Schwatka,  of  the  United  States 
Army,  left  Hew  York  in  the  ship  Eothen.  This  expedi- 
tion was  fitted  out  by  private  subscription,  the  main  ob- 
ject being  to  ascertain  more  fully  in  respect  to  the  fate  of 
Sir  John  Franklin.  It  was  very  successful. 

A recent  expedition  (1879)  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  De  Long  was  fitted  out  by  the  munificence  of 
James  Gordon  Bennett  of  Hew  York  City.  De  Long, 
in  a staunch  steam  vessel,  the  Jeannette , chose  the  new 


CHAP. 

LXIX. 


1861. 


1864. 


1871. 


1878. 

June 

19. 


1100 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXIX. 


1881. 


route  through  Behring  Straits ; all  the  others  passed  up 
either  the  west  side  of  Greenland  or  the  west  side  of 
Norway.  When  fairly  through  the  Straits  the  Jeannette 
headed  toward  the  Pole,  but  when  in  the  latitude  of 
about  71°  was  caught  in  the  ice  near  an  island  since 
known  as  Herald  Island , and  thence  held  fast ; she  floated 
helplessly  twenty -one  months  in  a north-westerly  direction, 
until  finally  crushed  by  the  ice  in  latitude  about  77,°  and 
near  west  longitude  160°  from  Greenwich.  The  crew 
took  to  the  boats,  and  a portion  of  them  reached  land  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Lena  in  the  Russian  Empire. 
George  W.  Melville,  engineer  of  the  expedition,  one  of 
the  survivors,  heroically  returned  with  well-equipped 
forces,  found  and  buried  the  bodies  of  De  Long  and  his 
companions  (April  7,  1882),  and  secured  the  records. 

Prof.  Nordenskjold,  sailing  from  Tromsoe  in  Norway 
on  the  Atlantic,  passed  round  to  the  east  and  reached 
Behring  Straits  in  the  Pacific,  thus  accomplishing  the 
long  sought  for  “ North-east  Passage ”(1878-9). 

Meanwhile,  expeditions  had  been  fitted  out  in  Eu- 
rope— from  Germany,  Austria,  Denmark,  Norway,  France 
and  England.  The  English  Lieut.  Aldrich,  under  Com- 
mandant Nares  in  1876,  reached  the  nearest  point  to 
the  Pole,  83°  07'  N.,  and  Commander  Markham  of  the 
same  expedition  attained  to  83°  20'  26"  N. 

These  explorations  have  assumed  an  international  char- 
acter. The  plan  proposed  is  for  each  government  at 
some  convenient  point  to  establish  depots  for  provisions 
and  suitable  materials  for  making  repairs.  Parties  can 
avail  themselves  of  these  as  starting  points,  and  fall  back 
upon  them  when  necessity  requires.  The  United  States 
government  has  already  two  such  stations;  one  at  Point 
Barrow  and  one  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay — north  of  Smith 
Sound — about  81°  30  ' north  and  50°  west  longitude.  The 
latter  is  the  most  northerly  point  ever  inhabited  fora  length 
of  time  ; it  being  about  588  statute  miles  from  the  Pole. 


COMMERCE— AGRICULTURE. 


1101 


Russia  has  a similar  station  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  chap. 
river,  and  the  remaining  European  governments  propose 
to  establish  at  least  seven  other  depots  which  explorers  1381  • 
can  make  available. 

Point  Barrow  is  the  extreme  northern  point  of  land 
belonging  to  Alaska,  and  is  very  near  the  156th  degree 
of  west  longitude  and  about  71  degrees  north.  This  sta- 
tion is  also  used  as  a place  of  refuge  for  American  ships 
that  visit  the  Arctic  Ocean  in  pursuit  of  whales,  when 
they  find  themselves  in  need  of  assistance.  The  station 
is  equipped  with  the  appliances  required  for  such  pur- 
pose, and  adapted  for  that  region  of  the  dangers  occur- 
ring from  snow  and  floating  fields  of  ice.  It  is  also  sup- 
plied with  provisions  suited  to  probable  exigencies  of 
the  case,  and  in  consequence,  the  whalers  often  make  it 
a stopping-place.  The  station  has  recently  been  com- 
pletely fitted  out  in  every  respect. 

The  interest  of  the  people  in  these  discoveries  did  not 
flag,  and  Congress,  in  1880,  ordered  an  appropriation  for 
an  expedition  to  make  “ scientific  observations  and  ex- 
plorations in  the  Arctic  seas.”  Lieutenant  Adolphus  W. 
Greely  of  the  army  was  detailed  for  the  purpose  and 
placed  in  command,  on  June  17, 1881.  Three  years  were 
spent  in  this  service  ; a great  amount  of  valuable  infor- 
mation was  obtained  ; and  a sledging-party,  composed  of 
Lieut.  James  B.  Lockwood  and  Serg’t  David  L.  Brainerd, 
with  an  Eskimo  named  Christiansen,  reached  nearer  the 
North  Pole  than  ever  before.  That  point,  being  verified 
by  instruments,  was  found  to  be  83°  24'  north  latitude  : — 
that  is,  about  450  statute  miles  from  the  Pole.  The  Stars 
and  Stripes  were  planted,  and  the  party,  compelled  by 
necessity,  turned  back.  Across  an  open  sea  they  saw  to- 
ward the  north  a point  of  land  apparently  fifteen  miles 
distant,  which  they  named  Cape  Washington. 


1102 


CHAP. 

LXX. 


1382. 
Feb.  25. 


CHAPTER  LXX. 

ABTHTK*S  AD  WI XISTR  ATIO X COXTTNTED. 

House  of  Representatives  ; number  of  members  fixed. — Tariff  Com 
mission. — Tariff  of  1883. — National  Banks. — Civil  Service  Examina- 
tions.— Labor  Bureau. — The  Nation's  Capital.— W asLinp:  .. 
Monument. — Morrison  Tariff. — Presidential  Canvass  and  Platforms. 
— Number  of  Votes  Cast. — Expositions  in  Atlanta  and  New 
Orleans. 

The  F orty -Seventh  Congress  during  its  first  session 
fixed  by  law  the  number  of  the  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  at  325  for  ten  years,  commencing  with 
the  Forty-Eighth  Congress.  March  4,  1SS3.  and  ending 
with  the  Fifty-Third.  March  3.  1S93.  The  ratio  of  con- 
stituents for  each  Congressman,  as  based  on  the  census  of 
1880,  is  151.918.  The  ratio  of  constituents  for  each 
member  of  the  First  Congress  in  1789  was  30.000. 

The  continued  prosperity  in  the  industries  of  the 
country  induced  a state  of  financial  affairs,  quite  unusual 
among  nations — that  of  having  a surplus  of  revenue.  The 
L nited  States  Government  had  more  income  than  was  re- 
quired to  pay  its  current  expenses,  the  interest  on  the 
debt,  and  also  to  lift  the  outstanding  bonds  as  they  became 
due.  Hence  arose  the  question,  how  to  diminish  the 
revenue.  The  bonds  that  had  a long  time  to  run  could 
be  canceled  only  by  paving  a very  high  premium,  and 
that  fact  suggested  another  consideration  : — was  it  fair 
that  this  generation  alone  should  hear  the  burdens  of  the 
war  debt,  and  by  paying  it.  relieve  the  people  of  the 


TARIFF  COMMISSION. 


1103 


future?  To  meet  this  difficulty,  Congress  authorized  chap. 
the  President  to  appoint,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  LXX' 
the  Senate,  a “ Tariff  Commission  ” of  nine  members.  1882- 
This  Commission  was  enjoined  “ to  take  into  considera- 
tion and  thoroughly  investigate  all  the  various  questions 
relating  to  the  agricultural,  mining  and  industrial  inter- 
ests of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  the  same  may  be 
necessary  to  the  establishment  of  a judicious  tariff  or  a 
revision  of  the  exisiting  tariff  upon  a scale  of  justice  to 
all  interests'.”  The  Commission  was  selected  with  great 
care,  having  for  its  members,  civilians,  gentlemen  of  in- 
telligence and  practical  wisdom.  On  the  subjects  of  in- 
vestigation, it  visited  the  different  centres  of  manu- 
facturing, of  mining  and  of  mercantile  interests  and  heard 
patiently  and  recorded  the  opinions  of  manufacturers 
and  merchants,  of  extreme  protectionists,  of  absolute  free 
traders  and  of  believers  in  a tariff  for  revenue  only,  in- 
viting men  of  intelligence  in  the  various  fields  of  in- 
dustry to  give  their  views  and  furnish  statistics  in  rela- 
tion to  the  subjects  with  which  they  were  specially 
conversant.  The  Commission  had  in  view  to  adjust  the 
rate  of  the  tariff  and  also  that  of  the  internal  revenue  so 
as  to  diminish  the  annual  income  of  the  Government  by 
$70,000,000,  which  was  deemed  a sufficient  reduction. 

After  a careful  and  laborious  investigation,  they  wTere 
able  to  make  their  report  to  Congress  at  the  time  de- 
signated— December  4,  1882. 

Congress,  in  the  main  following  the  suggestions  of 
the  Commission,  passed  a revised  tariff  to  take  effect  on 
July  1,  1883.  The  main  features  of  this  revision  may  be 
summed  up  : in  respect  to  imported  articles  of  luxury 
and  of  great  value  the  tariff  was  not  diminished,  but 
sometimes  increased  ; on  many  articles  of  general  use  it 
was  reduced.  In  respect  to  internal  revenue  the  tax 
was  taken  off  numerous  classes  of  articles,  but  not 
much  off  tobacco,  whiskey  and  other  classes  of  spirituous 


1104 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXX. 


1884. 
July  1. 


1882. 
July  12. 


liquors — these  being  deemed  luxuries  of  even  doubtful 
utility.  This  revised  tariff  and  schedule  of  diminished 
rates  in  the  Internal  revenue  tax,  went  into  effect ; but 
after  one  years  experiment,  it  was  found  that  the  income 
from  imports  was  diminished  only  §23,000,000  instead  of 
the  forty  that  had  been  estimated,  and  that  of  internal 
revenue  $19,000,000  instead  of  thirty.  The  prosperity 
of  the  country  had  been  so  great  that  the  people  were 
able  to  purchase  more  than  usual  of  high-priced  foreign 
articles,  while  their  industrial  energy  produced  more 
than  usual  of  home  manufactures,  the  lower  tariff  on 
the  cheaper  grades  not  having  been  changed  enough  to 
make  any  difference  either  in  volume  of  importations  or 
in  home  prices  ; in  consequence,  the  revenue  from  both 
sources  was  diminished  only  forty-two  million  instead  of 
the  seventy  anticipated.  The  Commission  in  its  estimates 
had  erred,  but  on  the  safe  side,  so  far  as  concerned  the 
protective  policy  of  the  dominant  party  and  the  national 
income,  as  the  Government  had  still  a surplus  instead  of 
a deficiency.  Meanwhile,  during  the  same  year  the  na- 
tional debt  had  been  reduced  $101,000,000  and  the  in- 
terest on  the  same  five  millions.  This  debt  on  Xovem- 
ber  1,  1884,  was  $1,417,159,862. 

The  national  banks1  had  now  been  in  existence  nearly 
twenty  years,  and  their  utility  in  promoting  exchange, 
and  thereby  encouraging:  the  industries  and  inter-State 
commerce,  was  so  valuable  that  Congress  passed  an  act 
authorizing  any  such  bank  or  association  to  renew  its 
charter  for  twenty  years  under  the  usual  conditions  and 
with  the  approval  of  the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency. 
The  number  of  national  banks  that  had  been  chartered 
up  to  that  time  was  2,958,  located  in  every  State. 

The  introduction  of  what  is  termed  the  “ spoils  sys- 
tem” in  18292  became,  as  we  have  seen,  a corrupting 
influence  in  our  politics,  and  had,  as  a matter  of  course, 
1 Hist.,  p.  991.  3 Hist.,  pp.  705,  730. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM. 


1105 


grown  to  greater  and  greater  proportions  as  the  party  so  chap. 
long  in  power  more  and  more  attracted  to  itself  the  self-  LXX* 
seeking  elements.  The  agitation  to  counteract  this  evil 
by  a reform  of  the  civil  service  began  in  1871,  when  the 
investigation  of  the  subject  was  entrusted  to  a commis- 
sion1. Congress  finally  embodied  the  main  features  of 
the  proposed  reform  in  a law.  The  latter  consists  of 
fifteen  sections,  the  sum  of  which  is  as  follows : “For 

J • . • lOOO 

open  competition  examinations  for  testing  the  fitness  of  jan.  A 
applicants  for  the  public  service.  . . . That  all  the  offices 
shall  be  filled  by  selections  from  among  those  graded 
highest  as  the  results  of  such  competitive  examinations. 

. . . That  there  shall  be  a period  of  probation  before  any 
absolute  appointment  is  made.  . . . That  no  person  in 
the  public  service  is  for  that  reason  under  any  obligation 
to  contribute  to  any  political  fund  or  render  any  political 
service.  . . . That  no  person  habitually  using  intoxicat- 
ing beverages  to  excess  shall  be  appointed  to  or  retained 
in  any  office  to  which  the  provisions  of  this  act  are  ap- 
plicable.” 

Upon  the  passage  of  this  act  President  Arthur  issued 
the  following  rules  : “ First — No  person  in  civil  service 
shall  use  his  office,  his  official  authority  or  influence,  either 
to  coerce  the  political  action  of  any  person  or  body  to 
interfere  with  any  election.  Second — No  person  in  the 
public  service  shall  for  that  reason  be  under  any  obliga- 
tion to  contribute  to  any  political  fund  or  render  any 
political  service,  and  he  will  not  be  removed  or  otherwise 
prejudiced  for  refusing  to  do  so.” 

The  important  interests  of  labor  within  the  nation 
having  been  recognized  more  fully  than  formerly,  Con- 
gress created  by  law  “ A Bureau  of  Labor  in  the  Interior 
Department,  the  Commissioners  of  which  shall  collect 
information  upon  the  subject  of  Labor  in  its  relations  to 
Capital,  the  hours  of  labor  and  the  earnings  of  laboring 
1 Hist.,  pp.  1068,  1091. 


1106 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPRE. 


chap,  men  and  women,  and  the  means  of  promoting  their  ma- 
_ LXX~  terial,  social,  intellectual  and  moral  prosperity.” 

1783.  Xhe  Continental  Congress  in  17S3  had  passed  a reso- 

Aug.  7.  ~ r 

lntion  to  commemorate  the  patriotic  services  of  George 
Washington  by  an  equestrian  statue,  which  was  to  be 
erected  “ where  the  residence  of  Congress  shall  be  estab- 
lished.” This  resolution  was  not  carried  into  immediate 
effect,  because  Congress  then  had  no  fixed  place  of  meet- 
ing or  residence,”  and  there  were  no  funds  available. 
Afterward,  when  the  present  government  was  estab- 
lished, Congress  authorized  the  President  (Washington) 
to  select  a site  on  the  Potomac  for  the  national  capital, 
1790.  which  duty  he  performed  and  also  supervised  the  laying- 
*** 0 out  of  the  city,  a French  engineer — M.  Pierre  Charles 
L‘ Enfant — making  the  necessary  surveys.  Because  of 
its  extent  the  plan  was  for  a time  much  ridiculed  by 
certain  writers  in  the  newspapers,  who  could  not  appre- 
ciate the  comprehensive  views  of  Washington.  Since 
the  nation  has  so  much  extended  its  territory,  and  so 
much  increased  in  population,  it  is  fitting  that  it  have  a 
large  and  beautiful  capital,  whose  plan  may  be  sus- 
ceptible of  improvements  corresponding  to  the  onward 
progress  of  the  nation  from  age  to  age.  The  undulating 
surface  of  the  site  supplies  one  of  the  conditions;  while 
the  original  plan  of  the  city,  with  its  wide  cross-streets 
and  noble  avenues,  has  shown  itself  the  best  that  could 
have  been  devised.  As  a national  capital  Washington 
has  pre-eminent  advantages,  and  a prospective  grandeur 
of  which  no  other  such  city  can  boast. 

George  Washington  died  on  December  14.  1799.  and 
Congress  met  for  the  first  time  in  the  present  capital  on 
the  first  Monday  of  December.  1800.  The  proposal  for  a 
memorial  for  the  Father  of  his  Country  was  renewed, 
and  the  following  Congress  appointed  a Committee  on 
the  subject,  which  recommended  that  66  a Mausoleum  for 
George  Washington  be  erected  in  the  City  of  Washing- 


THE  WASHINGTON  MONUMENT. 


1107 


ton.  Congress  adopted  the  recommendation  of  the  chap. 
Committee,  and  voted  funds  to  carry  it  into  effect.  How-  LXX‘ 
ever,  no  definite  action  was  taken.  Thirty-two  years  J801. 
afterward  a few  inhabitants  of  the  city  itself,  wearied 
with  the  continued  delay  of  Congress,  formed  a “ Monu- 
ment Association,”  and  appealed  for  aid  to  the  people 
themselves,  whose  subscriptions  were  to  be  limited  to 
one  dollar  each.  Money  came  in  slowly  this  time  also, 
and  fifteen  years  passed  before  enough  was  collected  to 
authorize  the  Association  to  begin  building.  Congress 
meanwhile  had  made  a grant  and  decided  upon  the  site 

for  the  monument.  The  work  was  commenced  and  the 

, -1  . , 1848. 

corner-stone  laid.  juiyi. 

The  Association  continued  its  management,  but  for 
want  of  funds  the  work  progressed  very  slowly.  After 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War  Congress  assumed  the  responsi- 
bility of  finishing  the  monument,  and  making  from  time 
to  time  the  required  appropriations,  completed  the  work 
under  the  supervision  of  its  own  officers.  It  is  the  high- 
est stone  column  ever  erected  by  man,  its  height  being 
555  feet.  The  cap  or  apex  of  the  monument  is  made  of 
the  metal  aluminum,  in  the  form  of  a four-sided  pyramid. 

The  whole  civilized  world  took  an  interest  in  the  com- 
pletion of  this  monument.  The  Association  invited  other 
nations  to  take  part  by  sending  blocks  of  stone  to  be  in- 
serted in  the  wails.  These  blocks,  nearly  one  hundred  in 
number,  coming  from  as  many  govern  men  ts,  societies 
and  associations  of  men,  have  been  placed  in  the  interior 
of  the  column,  where  they  can  be  seen  with  their  various 
inscriptions  and  emblems,  and  where  they  are  ever  to 
remain,  mementoes  of  the  interest  manifested  by  the 
givers  in  the  memory  of  George  Washington. 

On  the  occasion  of  laying  the  corner-stone  Hon. 
Robert  C.  Winthrop,  of  Boston,  pronounced  an  appro- 
priate and  eloquent  oration,  and  now,  thirty-seven  years 
afterward,  on  invitation,  he  prepared  an  address  to  cele- 


1108 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  brate  the  completion  of  the  monument,  but  owing  to  the 
LXX-  feebleness  of  his  health  the  address  was  read  by  a friend, 
1885.  ex-Governor  Loner,  of  Massachusetts.  In  it  Mi*.  TVin- 

Feb.  22.  . & 

throp,  in  referring  to  TV ashington,  says : “ Of  that  name, 
of  that  character,  of  that  example,  of  that  glorious  guid- 
ing light,  our  obelisk,  standing  on  the  very  spot  selected 
by  Washington  himself  for  a monument  to  the  American 
Revolution,  and  on  the  site  that  marks  our  national 
meridian,  will  be  a unique  memorial  and  symbol  for- 
ever.” 

1883.  The  Tariff  question  was  not  perceptibly  settled  by  the 
law  of  1883,  but  on  the  assembling  of  Congress  it  was 
again  taken  up.  The  debate  on  the  Morrison  tariff  bill — 
thus  named  from  the  Democratic  member  who  intro- 
duced it — in  the  House  of  Representatives,  during  the 
first  session  of  the  Forty-eighth  Congress,  indicated  great 
diversity  of  opinion  among  our  legislators ; some  advo- 
cating a tariff  for  revenue  only,  some  free  trade,  others  a 
tariff  to  equalize  the  cost  of  production,  and  still  others  a 
high  wall  of  protection  against  foreign  competition. 
The  discussion  was  prolonged  and  afterward  continued 
in  the  newspapers,  and  then  passed  over  into  the  Presi- 
dential canvass  of  1881.  The  progress  in  the  general 
industries  of  the  country  had  been  so  great  for  the  few 
previous  years  that  there  was  on  hand  an  unusual  amount 
of  various  manufactured  goods,  in  truth  far  beyond  the 
demands  of  the  people,  and  in  consequence  of  this  in- 
judicious overproduction,  certain  classes  of  manufacturing 
partially  ceased  during  the  greater  portion  of  the  years 
1883-SI,  and  labor  for  the  time  was  quite  depressed. 

In  the  Presidential  canvass  of  1881  the  national  con- 
ventions of  the  main  political  parties — the  Republican  and 
the  Democratic — were  both  held  in  Chicago;  the  former 
meeting  on  June  5 and  the  latter  on  July  10,  1881. 
They  professed  to  enunciate  the  political  and  economical 
principles  of  each.  The  Republican  convention  pledged 


PARTY  PLATFORMS. 


1 109 


itself  “ to  correct  the  inequalities  of  the  tariff,  and  to  chap. 
reduce  the  surplus  fry  such  methods  as  will  relieve  the  Lxx~ 
tax-payers  without  injuring  the  laborer  or  the  great  pro-  In- 
ductive interests  of  the  country.  . . .We  favor  the 

establishment  of  a National  Bureau  of  Labor,  and  the 
enforcement  of  the  eight-hour  law.  . . . The  re- 

reform of  the  civil ' service,  auspiciously  begun  under  a 
Republican  administration,  should  be  completed  by  its 
extension  to  all  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is  ap- 
plicable. . . . The  perpetuity  of  our  institutions 
rests  upon  the  maintenance  of  a free  ballot,  an 
honest  count  and  correct  returns.”  The  Democratic  con- 
vention announced  “ that  as  the  Nation  grows  older,  new 
issues  are  born  of  time  and  progress  and  old  issues  perish. 

. . . That  the  Government  should  not  always  be  con- 
trolled by  one  political  party.  . . . Frequent  change 

of  administration  is  as  necessary  as  constant  recurrence 
to  the  popular  will.  . . That  change  is  necessary 

is  proved  by  an  existing  surplus  of  more  than  $100,- 
000,000,  which  has  been  yearly  collected  from  a suffering 
people.  . . . That  the  party  is  pledged  to  revise  the 

tariff  in  a spirit  of  fairness  to  all  interests,  and  to  pro- 
mote their  healthy  growth.  ...  We  demand  that 
Federal  taxation  shall  be  exclusively  for  public  purposes. 

. . . We  believe  in  a free  ballot  and  a fair  count. 

. . . We  favor  honest  civil  service  reform.  . . . 

We  favor  free  education  by  common  schools.  . . . 

We  oppose  sumptuary  laws,  which  vex  the  citizen  and 
interfere  with  individual  liberty.” 

It  will  be  seen  that  so  far  as  words  can  indicate,  there 
was  but  little  difference  between  the  declared  purposes 
of  the  two  parties  except  that  each  was  intent  upon 
securing  control  of  the  Government ; and,  in  fact,  the 
canvass  finally  turned  largely  upon  the  candidates. 

Much  had  been  said  and  written,  in  and  out  of  Congress, 
for  and  against  the  protective  policy  of  the  Republican 


1110 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAS’  PEOPLE. 


chap,  party  and  its  result  in  the  enormous  surplus  left  in  the 
LXX  hands  of  the  Government,  which  was  by  many  regarded 
as  caused  by  “unnecessary  and  therefore  unjust  taxa- 
tion.” But  while  many  Republicans  shared  the  growing 
opposition  to  the  policy,  many  Democrats  were  “ higli- 
tariif  men,”  and  thus  both  parties  were  timid  as  to  out- 
spoken expression  on  the  real  difference  between  the  two. 
Both  announced  a necessity  for  “ revising  the  tariff ; ” 
but  the  Democrats  asserted  that  it  should  be  revised  by 
a party  opposed  to  its  principle  of  “taxing  all  for  the 
benefit  of  a few,”  while  the  Republicans  claimed  that  it 
should  be  “ revised  by  its  friends,  in  the  interest  of  pro- 
tecting American  industries.” 

The  Republican  convention  nominated  James  G. 
Blaine,  of  Maine,  for  President,  and  John  A.  Logan,  of 
Illinois,  for  Vice-President ; the  Democratic,  nominated 
Grover  Cleveland,  of  Xew  York,  for  the  first  office  and 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana,  for  the  second.  Ben- 
jamin F.  Butler,  of  Massachusetts,  and  A.  M.  West,  of 
Mississippi,  the  candidates  of  the  Greenback  Labor  party, 
had  been  regularly  put  in  nomination  at  Indianapolis, 
May  28 : and  John  P.  St.  John,  of  Kansas,  and  William 
Daniel,  of  Maryland,  the  candidates  of  the  Prohibition 
party,  were  nominated  by  a convention  held  in  Pitts- 
burgh. Julv  23,  1884.  In  the  election,  held  November 
4.  1884,  the  candidates  nominated  by  the  Democratic 
convention  were  chosen,  and  the  Lower  House  of 
Congress  became  Democratic  by  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  members  to  one  hundred  and  forty  Republicans — a 
majority  of  forty-two ; the  Senate  remaining  Republican. 
Throughout  the  Union,  according  to  law,  the  number  of 
inhabitants  represented  by  each  Congressman  is  the 
same,  but  in  this  election  there  was  a marked  discrepancy 
in  the  different  sections  in  the  average  number  of  votes 
cast  for  each.  In  the  twenty-two  original  free-labor 
States  the  average  number  of  votes  cast  for  each  Con- 


SOUTHERN  PROGRESS. 


1111 


gressman  was  34,595 ; in  the  jive  border  States  it  was  chap. 
29,360 ; and  in  the  eleven  recent  Confederate  States,  LXX . 
22,958.  1884- 

As  an  evidence  of  the  increasing  interest  in  material 
progress  in  the  southern  section  of  the  country,  may  be 
cited  two  Expositions : one  held  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  in 
which  were  exhibited  remarkably  fine  specimens  of  the 
productions  of  that  section,  agricultural  and  otherwise. 

The  Exposition  partook  almost  of  a national  character,  as 
so  many  of  the  products  of  mechanical  industries  were 
sent  from  the  manufacturing  centres  of  the  northern 
section  to  be  placed  on  exhibition.  The  other  and 
similar  Exposition  was  held  in  New  Orleans  in  the  winter 
(1884-85) ; the  latter  in  its  design  was  more  comprehen- 
sive than  the  former.  One  object  was  to  demonstrate 
the  importance  to  the  foreign  trade  of  the  Great  Valley, 
in  having  a port  so  accessible  as  that  of  New  Orleans ; 
another  to  encourage  the  development  of  the  peculiar 
agricultural  resources  around  the  Gulf,  and  also  to  stimu- 
late the  enterprise  of  our  neighbors,  the  inhabitants  of 
the  sister  republics  south  of  the  Rio  Grande. 

The  administration  of  Mr.  Arthur  drew  to  a close. 
Though  disturbed  at  first  by  the  tragic  death  of  Presi- 
dent Garfield,  it  had  been  one  in  which  the  nation 
made  progress  in  its  commerce,  in  its  industries,  both 
mechanical  and  agricultural,  in  its  educational  interests, 
increase  of  population  and  in  the  founding  of  homes  for 
happy  families  in  the  unoccupied  territories  of  the  far 
West,  and  thus  peace  and  prosperity  reigned  throughout 
the  land.  President  Arthur,  although  embarrassed  by  the 
mode  of  his  entrance  upon  the  great  office,  fulfilled  the 
hopes  of  his  friends,  and  gave  the  country  an  able,  dig- 
nified, honorable  and  satisfactory  administration  of  the 
vast  interests  committed  to  his  hands. 


1112 


CHAP. 

LXXI. 


1837. 


CHAPTEE  LXXI. 

Cleveland’s  administration. 

Sketch  of  Life.— Inaugural  and  Cabinet. — Death  of  General  Grant. — 
Funeral  Services  in  the  U.  S. — In  Westminster  Abbey. — Death  of 
General  McClellan. — Auditing  the  Books  of  the  Treasury. — The 
Financial  Policy. — Revision  of  Tariff  Attempted. — Labor  Arbitra- 
tion.— Presidential  Succession. — Counting  the  Electoral  Votes. — 
Inter-State  Commerce  Act. — Presidential  Candidates  and  Platforms. 
— Department  of  Agriculture. — Public  Schools. — Admission  of 
States. 

Grover  Cleveland,  the  son  and  third  child  of  Eichard 
F.  Cleveland,  a Presbyterian  clergyman,  was  born  at 
Caldwell,  Hew  Jersey,  on  the  18th  day  of  March,  1837. 
His  father  was  of  English  descent,  and  his  mother  of 
Irish  and  German.  She  is  described  as  a woman  “ with 
a kindly  face  and  nnnsual  strength  of  character.”  The 
father,  in  order  to  become  pastor  of  a church  in  the 
State  of  Hew  York,  moved  thither  when  Grover  was  a 
child.  The  latter  at  the  age  of  fourteen  began  to  earn 
his  own  living  as  a clerk  in  *a  country  store.  This  em- 
ployment he  soon  left  in  order  to  prepare  himself  to 
enter  Hamilton  College  ; but,  shortly  after,  the  father 
died,  leaving  a widow  and  nine  children,  and  they  in 
limited  circumstances;  thus  the  want  of  means  com- 
pelled the  boy  to  relinquish  a collegiate  education,  and 
he  devoted  himself  to  the  support  of  his  mother  and  her 
family.  Afterward  he  engaged  in  teaching  school ; but 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  entered  a legal  firm  in  Buffalo  in 
the  capacity  of  a clerk,  meanwhile  studying  law.  Eight 


GROVER  CLEVELAND. 


1113 


years  afterward  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  four  chap. 
years  later  he  was  elected  as  a Democratic  candidate  to  LXXI 
the  office  of  Assistant  District  Attorney  for  the  County 
of  Erie.  In  1871  he  was  elected  Sheriff  of  the  county  and 
served  in  that  office  four  years  with  business-like  effi- 
ciency. Eight  years  later  he  was  chosen  Mayor  of  the 
city  of  Buffalo.  The  latter  result  was  the  outgrowth  of  a 
union,  without  reference  to  political  parties,  of  those  who 
wished  reform  in  their  municipal  affairs,  which  had  been 
shamefully  mismanaged  ; and  Mr.  Cleveland’s  record  Jan- 1- 
thus  far  led  them  to  believe  him  to  be  the  man  to  reform 
the  abuses. 

His  energetic,  honest,  and  able  administration  of  the 
Mayoralty  of  Buffalo  won  for  him  the  marked  esteem  of 
all  classes  of  his  fellow-citizens  ; so  much  so  that  the  sug- 
gestion of  his  name  in  connection  with  the  Governor- 
ship of  the  State  was  first  suggested  by  a Republican 
newspaper  in  Buffalo,  although  he  had  always  been  and 
still  continued  a “ Democrat  of  the  Democrats.” 1 Ho 
citizen  of  Buffalo  had  as  yet  ever  held  the  office,  while 
there  was  a prevailing  sentiment  among  the  people  in 
the  extreme  Western  portion  of  the  State  that  in  this 
respect  they  had  been  slighted.  Mr.  Cleveland  was 
elected  by  an  unprecedented  majority — 195,000.  This 
— like  his  election  to  the  Buffalo  mayoralty — was  owing 
to  disagreements  in  the  Republican  party,  and  for  a pur- 
pose thousands  of  that  organization  voted  for  him,  hav- 
ing seen  how  the  Republicans  of  Buffalo  had  been  justi- 
fied, who  had  voted  for  this  Democrat  as  Mayor  of  a Re- 
publican city.  Mr.  Cleveland’s  record  as  Governor 
pleased  a large  portion  of  his  own  party,  although  his 
bold  vetoing  of  many  bills  which  he  did  not  ap- 
prove from  the  Democratic  Legislature  caused  much 
dissatisfaction.  The  Democratic  Convention,  how- 
ever, nominated  him  for  the  Presidency,  as  their 
1 Dorslieimer’s  “Life  of  Cleveland.” 


1114 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  AMEEICAX  PEOPLE. 


chap,  most  available  man,  Mr.  James  G.  Blaine  being  the 
IXXL  Republican  candidate.  The  contest  was  hot  and  the 
1884.  result  close,  turning  upon  the  vote  of  Hew  York  State. 
It  is  an  interesting  commentary  on  the  importance  of  a 
national  as  compared  with  a State  election,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  rural  voters,  that  although  Mr.  Cleveland  received 
27,836  more  votes  than  when  he  had  been  elected  Gover- 
nor, his  total  of  563,154  votes  was  barely  enough  to  give 
him  Hew  York’s  electoral  vote,  by  a plurality  of  1,047 
over  his  chief  opponent,  Mr.  Blaine,  while  he  lacked 
more  than  fifty  thousand  of  having  a majority  of  the  en- 
tire vote  of  the  State — 25,000  having  voted  for  the  Pro- 
hibitionist candidate  and  an  equal  number  not  having 
voted  at  all.  A presidential  election  brings  out  thou- 
sands of  voters  who  take  no  interest  in  minor  contests. 

Grover  Cleveland  was  inaugurated  President  March 
4,  1885,  the  oath  of  office  being  administered  by  Chief 
Justice  Waite.  A pleasing  incident  of  the  ceremony 
was  Mr.  Cleveland’s  using  a small  pocket  Bible,  which 
had  been  presented  him  when  a boy  by  his  mother. 

The  President  in  his  Inaugural  Address — that  of  the 
first  Democratic  President  since  1860 — was  conciliatory 
intone.  Among  other  things  he  said:  “At  this  hour 
the  animosities  of  political  strife,  the  bitterness  of  parti- 
san defeat  and  the  exultation  of  partisan  triumph  should 
be  supplanted  by  an  ungrudging  acquiescence  in  the 
popular  will  and  a sober,  conscientious  concern  for  the 
general  weal.  A due  regard  for  the  interests  and  pros- 
perity of  all  the  people  demands  that  . . . our 

system  of  revenue  shall  be  so  adjusted  as  to  relieve  the 
people  of  unnecessary  taxation,  having  a due  regard  to 
the  interests  of  capital  invested  and  workingmen  em- 
ployed on  American  industries,  and  preventing  the  ac- 
cumulation of  a surplus  in  the  Treasury  to  tempt  extrav- 
agance and  waste.  . . . The  people  demand  reform 

in  the  administration  of  the  Government,  and  the  ap- 


Cleveland’s  principles. 


1115 


plication  of  business  principles  to  public  affairs.  As  a chap. 
means  to  this  end  Civil  Service  reform  should  be  in  good  LXXL 
faith  enforced.  ...  In  the  administration  of  a gov-  l885* 
ernment  pledged  to  do  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all 
men,  there  should  be  no  pretext  for  anxiety  touching 
the  protection  of  the  freedmen  in  their  rights  or  their 
security  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  privileges  under  the 
Constitution  and  its  Amendments.  . . . The  fact  that 

they  are  citizens  entitles  them  to  all  the  rights  due  to 
that  relation,  and  charges  them  with  all  its  duties,  obli- 
gations and  responsibilities.” 

The  Inaugural  also  urged  the  strict  application  of  the 
Monroe  doctrine,  economy  in  the  expenditures  of  the 
Government,  the  suppression  of  Mormon  polygamy,  the 
protection  of  the  Indians  and  their  admission  to  citizen- 
ship, and  closed  by  invoking  for  the  nation  the  Divine 
guidance  and  blessing. 

President  Cleveland  invited  to  his  Cabinet  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen  : Secretary  of  State,  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  of 
Delaware ; Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Daniel  Manning, 
of  New  York ; Secretary  of  War,  William  C.  Endicott, 
of  Massachusetts;  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  L.  Q.  C. 
Lamar,  of  Mississippi ; Postmaster-General,  William  F. 

Yilas,  of  Wisconsin;  and  Attorney  General,  A.  II.  Gar- 
land, of  Arkansas ; all  of  whom  were  promptly  confirmed 
by  the  Senate. 

The  XLIXtli  Congress  did  not  meet  until  the  usual  Dec.  z 
time,  the  first  Monday  in  December.  Before  the  ar- 
rival of  that  day  occurred  the  deaths  of  two  prominent 
Americans,  General  and  ex-President  U.  S.  Grant,  and 
General  George  B.  McClellan. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  Presidency,  General 
Grant,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Grant,  had  spent  two  years 
and  four  months  in  travelling,  visiting  Europe  and  the 
Holy  Land,  and  finally  completing  a tour  around  the 
world.  In  the  countries  he  visited  no  private  citizen  had 


1116 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  ever  before  received  so  ranch  honor  and  attention,  his 
IXXI.  tour  being  almost  a continuous  ovation.  On  returning 
1881-  to  his  native  land  he  decided  to  make  his  residence  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  It  was  not  his  nature  to  lead  an 
inactive  life,  and  in  the  course  of  a year  or  more  he  be- 
came interested  in  several  enterprises.  lie  was  elected 
president  of  the  Southern  Mexican  Railroad,  that  runs 
from  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  city  of  Mexico  ; he  visited 
that  country  in  order  to  study  its  people  and  its  natural 
resources ; he  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Nicar- 
agua Canal ; and  was  appointed  by  President  Arthur 
one  of  the  Commissioners  to  negotiate  a treaty  of  reci- 
procity with  Mexico.  He  invested  much  of  his  means, 
as  a silent  partner,  in  a firm  of  bankers  and  brokers  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  Taking  it  for  granted  that  its 
business  was  honestly  and  properly  managed,  and  being 
engrossed  in  other  duties,  he  took  no  practical  notice  of 
its  affairs.  The  business  was,  however,  conducted  in  a 
series  of  swindling  operations ; his  own  name  having 
been  traded  upon  in  a most  unauthorized  manner.  The 
bubble  suddenly  burst,  and  the  ex-President  was 
astounded  to  find  himself  bankrupt ; although  that  was 
as  nothing,  compared  with  his  mortification  when  he 
learned  of  the  dishonorable  and  dishonest  means  by  which 
it  had  been  brought  about. 

He  was  now  under  the  necessity  of  borrowing  money 
to  defray  his  current  expenses.  This  fact  induced  him 
to  begin  writing  his  “ Personal  Memoirs,”  for  the  benefit 
of  his  family.  The  work  had  progressed  about  two- 
thirds  when,  as  he  says,  “ I had  reason  to  suppose  I was 
in  a critical  condition  of  health.”  A few  months  pre- 
vious a slight  ulceration  appeared  at  the  root  of  the 
tongue,  which  in  the  end  developed  into  a form  of  can- 
cer. He  continued  to  work  on  his  book,  except  when 
prostrated  by  weakness  induced  by  pain.  Never  did  he 
display  more  fortitude  than  when  in  an  uncomplaining 


DEATH  OF  GENERAL  GRANT. 


HIT 


spirit  he  bore  for  nine  months  the  almost  continuous  chap. 
agony  caused  by  this  terrible  disease.  Thus  in  the  line 
of  duty,  and  in  the  sweet  assurance  of  the  Christian’s  hope,  1885. 
he  calmly  awaited  orders,  which  came  July  23,  1885,  in 
the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

He  died  at  Mount  MacGregor,  a summer  resort  a few 
miles  north  of  Saratoga,  whither  he  had  been  removed  in 
the  hope  of  mitigating  his  sufferings.  Simple  and  ap- 
propriate funeral  services  were  held  first  at  Mount  Mac- 
Gregor, and  at  their  close  the  casket,  under  a guard  of 
honor,  was  placed  on  a special  train  and  taken  to  New 
York. 

An  imposing  procession  escorted  the  remains  to  the 
City  Hall,  where  the  usual  lying  in  state  continued  for 
two  days  and  one  night.  The  remains  wTere  taken  to 
Riverside  Park  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  in  th^pper 
portion  of  the  city,  about  eight  miles  from  the  City  Hall. 

The  day  of  the  funeral  was  charming,  being  compara- 
tively cool — fleeting  clouds  warding  off  the  hot  ray&  of 
the  sun — the  air  pure  and  bracing,  while  recent  rains 
had  made  the  earth  rejoice,  and  the  slopes  of  Riverside 
seemed  dressed  in  living  green. 

The  funeral  pageant  was  conducted  both  on  water  and 
on  land,  and  in  its  proportions  exceeded  any  one  that 
had  hitherto  occurred  in  the  Union.  Men-of-war  and 
other  United  States  vessels  took  position  in  the  Hudson 
opposite  Riverside  the  evening  before,  and  at  sunrise 
commenced  firing  minute  guns.  Numerous  private 
yachts  and  steamers  crowded  with  spectators  were  also 
present  and  remained  till  the  ceremonies  at  the  tomb 
were  closed.  Present  with  the  family  at  the  last  services 
were  the  President  and  the  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  ex-Presidents  Hayes  and  Arthur,  a number  of 
United  States  Senators,  the  Generals  of  the  Army,  Sher- 
man and  Sheridan,  and  Generals  Johnston  and  Buckner 
of  the  late  Confederate  Army ; representative  clergymen 


1118 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  of  different  denominations  and  other  men  of  distinction. 

The  Governors  of  sixteen  States,  some  with  their  staffs, 
1885.  were  present.  Nearly  fifty  associations  of  the  city  itself 
and  of  various  kinds  took  part  in  the  procession,  besides 
delegates  from  similar  associations  belonging  to  other 
cities  and  States.  A profusion  of  emblems  of  mourning 
marked  the  route  of  the  procession,  but  by  no  means 
were  they  thus  limited,  for  they  were  to  be  seen  in  every 
street — some  very  elaborate  and  some  very  humble. 

The  casket  was  deposited  in  a temporary  tomb  near 
where  the  monument  is  to  rise,  under  which  will  be  its 
final  resting-place. 

The  last  ceremonies  being  performed,  the  mortal  re 
mains  of  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant  were  left  in  charge  of  a 
guard  of  United  States  soldiers. 

At  the  same  hour  in  which  funeral  services  were  being 
held  at  Mount  MacGregor,  by  arrangement,  similar  ones 
were  in  progress  in  Westminister  Abbey,  London.  That 
vast  edifice  was  crowded  by  an  assemblage  of  distin- 
guished persons.  The  flags  upon  all  the  royal  residences 
and  yachts  were  lowered  during  the  service.  Canon 
Farrar  delivered  a funeral  discourse  after  the  usual  burial 
service  of  the  Church  of  England  was  read.  He  said  in 
part : 

“ To-day  we  assemble  at  the  obsequies  of  the  great 
soldier,  whose  sun  set  while  it  was  yet  day.  I desire  to 
speak  simply  and  directly,  with  generous  appreciation 
but  without  flattery,  of  him  whose  death  has  made  a 
a nation  mourn.  . . . Such  careers  are  the  glory  of  the 
American  people  ; they  show  that  they  have  a sovereign 
insight  into  intrinsic  force  ; that  men  should  be  honored 
simply  as  men,  not  according  to  the  accident  of  birth. 
Every  man  derives  a patent  of  nobleness  direct  from 
God.  . . . The  hour  came  and  the  man  was  needed  : 
Grant’s  success  was  not  luck,  but  the  result  of  inflexible 
faithfulness,  indomitable  resolution,  sleepless  energy. 


DEATH  OF  GENERAL  McCLELLAN. 


1119 


persistent  tenacity.  He  rose  by  the  upper  gravitation  of  chap. 
fitness.  ...  If  our  two  peoples  which  are  one  be  true  to  LXX1, 
their  duty,  who  can  doubt  that  the  destinies  of  the  world 
are  in  their  hands  ?”  This  service  was  entirely  English, 
both  in  its  inception  and  in  its  celebration. 

On  the  day  of  the  funeral,  memorial  services  were 
held  in  Paris  by  the  American  residents  of  that  city  ; a 
number  of  prominent  Frenchmen  were  present ; and 
also  at  the  same  time  funeral  obsequies  were  held  in  the 
City  of  Mexico,  while  throughout  the  Union  similar  ser- 
vices were  in  progress  in  the  cities  and  villages. 

General  George  B.  McClellan  died  at  Orange,  New  J88& 
Jersey,  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  His  illness 
was  brief,  being  an  affection  of  the  heart.  He  was  a 
native  of  Philadelphia,  the  son  of  an  eminent  surgeon, 

Dr.  George  McClellan,  of  that  city.  He  graduated  from 
West  Point  Academy,  and  wTas  at  once  ordered  to  active 
service  in  Mexico  as  second  Lieutenant  of  Engineers. 
During  the  Crimean  War  he  was  sent  by  the  United 
States  Government  to  its  scene  of  action  in  order 
to  make  observations  on  the  military  movements  and 
plans  of  defence  and  attack,  on  which  he  pre- 
sented to  Congress  an  elaborate  report.  He  soon  after- 
ward resigned  his  position  in  the  army  to  engage  in 
civil  engineering,  being  employed  in  superintending 
the  construction  of  railways.  At  the  commencement  of 
the  Bebellion  he  offered  his  services  to  the  United  States 
and  was  accepted  and  put  in  command  in  Western  Vir- 
ginia. His  distinguished  military  services  have  been 
treated  in  their  place.  After  his  second  retirement Nov- 8- 
from  the  army,  he  again  engaged  in  civil  affairs,  mean- 
while becoming  a resident  of  New  Jersey,  of  which  State 
he  was  elected  Governor.  He  was  a man  of  very  high 
culture  and  of  the  purest  life,  and  endeared  to  all  who 
knew  him  intimately.  His  funeral  at  his  own  request 
was  simple  and  unostentatious,  held  in  the  Madison 


1120 


HISTOBY  OF  THE  AMF.BICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  Square  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  York  City.  Of 
— that  denomination  he  was  a member  and  a ruling  elder, 
1885.  in  which  capacity  he  was  often  appointed  to  represent 
his  church  in  ecclesiastical  courts.  The  assemblage  at  the 
funeral  was  unusually  large,  and  comprised  numbers  of 
prominent  gentlemen  in  the  army  and  naxy  and  in  the 
dwil  walks  of  life.  No  eulogy  was  pronounced  nor  ad- 
dress made  on  the  occasion.  The  offers  of  the  military 
and  of  those  who  had  seryed  under  him  to  escort  the  re- 
mains or  act  as  a guard  of  honor,  were  courteously  de- 
clined by  the  family.  His  last  resting-place  is  in  the 
family  plot  in  Trenton.  New  Jersey. 

When  Mr.  Clexeland's  administration  entered  upon 
its  duties,  the  new  Congress  almost  immediately  began 
the  labor  of  auditing  thoroughly  the  books  containing 
the  financial  accounts  of  the  preyious  administrations  for 
the  past  twenty-four  years.  .After  months  of  such  inxes- 
tigation  there  was  found  a discrepancy  of  only  a few 
cents.  The  youchers  for  the  collections  and  disburse- 
ments of  these  moneys  were  on  file  in  the  respectiye 
departments.  During  this  twenty-four  years — from 
March  4.  1861.  to  March  4. 1885 — it  is  estimated  that  far 
more  money  was  collected  and  paid  out  than  had  been  in 
the  entire  period  of  eighteen  administrations,  or  sexenty- 
two  years,  from  the  first  inauguration  of  George  Wash- 
ington. though  that  period  had  paid  off  the  debt  incurred 
by  the  Rexolution,  and  had  borne  the  expenses  of  two 
wars — that  of  1S12  and  that  with  Mexico — and  had  pur- 
chased an  immense  amount  of  territory. 

The  same  general  policy  in  relation  to  the  financial 
measures  of  the  nation — such  as  the  rates  of  import 
duties  and  of  internal  reyenue — that  had  obtained  in  the 
preyious  six  administrations  was  yirtually  continued  dur- 
ing that  of  Mr.  Cleyeland.  Within  these  four  years  no 
laws  of  a national  character  were  enacted  that  directly 
influenced  the  material  interests  of  the  people,  chiefly 


TARIFF  DISCUSSIONS  REVIVED. 


1121 


because  the  Senate  was  controlled  by  a Republican,  and  chap. 
the  House  of  Representatives  by  a Democratic,  majority,  LXXI . 
and  the  latter  was  by  no  means  harmonious  or  of  one 
mind  on  many  essential  matters.  The  discussions,  how- 
ever, in  the  Houses  of  Congress  and  among  the  people 
on  financial  subjects — the  tariff,  internal  revenue,  and  the 
disposal  of  the  surplus — because  of  the  uncertainty  in 
regard  to  the  final  action  of  Congress,  did  interfere  to  a 
limited  extent  with  the  mining,  manufacturing,  mercan- 
tile and  agricultural  industries  of  the  people,  as  well  with 
the  inter-State  trade  as  with  the  foreign.  Mr.  Cleve- 
land’s administration  was,  therefore,  quite  uneventful, 
as  it  w^as  much  more  executive  than  legislative  in  its 
character.  He  was  noted,  as  in  former  executive  offices- 
by  an  exact  and  untiring  industry,  scrupulously  examin- 
ing everything,  and  thus  was  enabled  to  veto  a very 
large  number  of  improper  private  pension  bills,  mostly  of 
cases  rejected  by  previous  administrations  in  the  Pension 
Bureau,  but  engineered  through  Congress.  The  work  of 
Congress  was  for  the  most  part  confined  to  the  usual 
routine  of  making  the  necessary  appropriations  for  car- 
rying on  the  Government.  Laws  previously  enacted  1884 
made  provision  for  restoring  to  the  public  domain  lands 
that  had  been  granted  to  railways  on  certain  conditions 
which  involved  forfeiture  to  the  Government  if  the  con- 
ditions were  not  complied  with,  and  the  President  duly 
enforced  these  laws. 

During  this  administration,  however,  an  unusual 
amount  of  earnest  discussion  was  had  in  the  four  sessions  of 
the  Forty-ninth  and  the  Fiftieth  Congresses,  as  well  as  in 
the  public  journals,  in  political  meetings,  and  especially 
among  the  people,  who  read  more  than  usual,  on  all  the 
topics  pertaining  to  the  finances  and  the  general  material 
interests  of  the  nation.  Although  during  the  four  ses- 
sions, as  mentioned  above,  no  tariff  nor  tax  bill  passed 
Congress,  the  arguments  used  for  and  against  the  bills 


1122 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXXI. 


1885. 
Dec.  7. 


Dec.  5. 


proposed  will  undoubtedly  have  an  influence  on  future 
legislation  on  these  subjects. 

The  Forty-ninth  Congress  in  its  first  session  entered 
upon  a revision  of  the  tariff,  taking  as  its  basis  the  tariff 
of  1883,  the  outgrowth  of  the  Commission  of  18S2.  The 
Morrison  Tariff — thus  designated  from  the  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  of  Wavs  and  Means  who  introduced  it — 
for  the  most  part  applied  the  " horizontal  ” principle  to 
that  of  1883 — that  is,  it  diminished  the  latter's  rates  Dy 
ticen  per  cent.  The  House  of  Representatives,  after 
discussing  this  measure  at  intervals  for  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  first  session,  finally  failed  to  pass  it.  During  the 
second  session,  owing  to  diversities  of  opinion  on  the 
subject  among  the  members  of  the  majority,  no  attempt 
was  made  to  introduce  another  bill,  and  the  whole  matter 
was  permitted  to  pass  over  to  the  Fiftieth  Congress, 
whose  members  were  about  to  be  elected.  In  this  elec- 
tion the  people  indicated  that  to  some  extent  they  had 
again  changed  their  views  on  the  prominent  question  of 
the  tariff,  or  else  were  dissatisfied  with  their  undecided 
Congressmen,  as  they  chose  a House  of  Representatives 
in  which  the  Democratic  majority  of  the  former  House 
was  reduced  from  forty-two  to  thirteen. 

Although  during  this  administration  the  attempts  to 
revise  the  tariff  proved  abortive,  we  may.  for  the  sake  of 
the  connection  and  of  the  reader’s  convenience,  note 
what  was  done  by  the  Congress  elected  in  the  middle  of 
Cleveland's  term.  In  the  first  session  of  the  Fiftieth 
Congress — which  lasted  from  December  5.  1887.  to  Oc- 
tober 20,  1888 — the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means, 
through  their  Chairman.  Mr.  R.  Q.  Mills,  introduced  the 
bill  known  by  his  name.  This  bill,  ignoring  the  horizon- 
tal mode  as  well  as  the  revision  plan,  framed  a tariff  on 
a practically  new  schedule  of  rates  The  distinctive 
features  of  the  bill  had  been  foreshadowed  by  President 
Cleveland  in  his  annual  message  on  the  assembling  of 


Cleveland’s  tariff  message. 


1123 


this  Congress.  Therein  the  theory  of  what  is  character-  chap. 
ized  as  the  protective  system  was  challenged  to  a contest 
before  the  people  with  the  opposing  policy  of  a tariff  for 
revenue  only.  With  characteristic  boldness,  Mr.  Cleve- 
land spared  neither  political  friend  nor  foe,  but  called 
Congress  to  account  for  tariff  inaction.  He  said  : 66  The 
amount  of  money  annually  exacted  through  the  operation 
of  the  present  laws  from  the  industries  and  necessities 
of  the  people  largely  exceeds  the  sum  necessary  to  meet 
the  expenses  of  the  Government,  . . . The  public 
treasury  . . . becomes  a hoarding  place  for  money 
needlessly  withdrawn  from  trade  and  the  people’s  use 
. . . threatening  financial  disturbance  and  inviting 
schemes  of  public  plunder.  ...  If  disaster  results 
from  the  continued  inaction  of  Congress,  the  responsi- 
bility must  rest  where  it  belongs.” 

Thus  spurred  up,  the  Democratic  majority  responded 
by  the  introduction  of  the  “ Mills  bill,”  and  a line  was 
definitely  drawn  between  the  two  financial  and  industrial 
policies ; as  such,  the  various  questions  involved 
were  afterward  the  most  prominent  themes  for  debate 
in  the  presidential  canvass  of  the  following  year  and  in 
the  election  of  the  members  of  the  Fifty-first  Congress. 

The  Mills  bill,  after  a discussion  unprecedentedly 
lengthened,  finally  passed  the  Democratic  House  by  a 
slender  majority  and  was  sent  to  the  Republican  Senate. 

The  latter  body,  for  the  most  part,  deemed  its  main  pro- 
visions so  radical  and  its  changes  so  sweeping  that,  in- 
stead of  attempting  to  amend  it,  they  framed  a bill  of 
their  own  as  a substitute,  and  passing  that,  sent  it  to  the 
House  ; which  in  its  turn  declined  to  take  up  at  all  the 
discussion  of  so  utterly  different  a bill,  but  adjourned, 
leaving  the  matter  to  be  acted  upon  in  the  second  session. 
Meantime  the  Presidential  canvass  was  in  progress,  and  1888. 
the  issue  was  before  the  people  themselves,  the 
Democratic  party  standing  upon  the  Mills  House  bill  and 


1124: 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  the  Republicans  upon  the  Senate  bill,  as  exponents 
IXXI~  of  the  party  positions  on  the  Tariff  question.  Mr.  Cleve- 
land’s message  had  at  last  crystallized  the  Democratic 
policy  to  one  of  a u Revenue  Tariff,”  and  Mr.  Blaine 
(Dec.  1887),  then  in  Paris,  had  caught  it  up  and  by  some 
public  letters  had  aroused  the  Republican  enthusiasm  to 
a fight  for  the  “ Protective  Tariff and  so  the  lines  of 
battle  had  been  accepted  by  both  parties,  out  of  Congress 
as  well  as  within  it. 

1888.  When  the  Fiftieth  Congress  met  in  its  second  session 
Dec'3‘  the  Senate  renewed  the  discussion  of  the  substitute 
bill,  and  having  passed  it  a second  time  sent  it  to  the 
Lower  House  ; but  before  the  latter  acted  upon  it  Con- 
gress itself  came  to  its  legal  end  on  March  3, 1889.  The 
tariff  had  now  remained  unrevised  for  six  years — that 
is,  since  July  1,  1883. 

Various  labor  associations  had  appealed  to  Congress 
for  relief,  since  some  manufacturers  and  contractors  had 
by  means  of  agents  imported  from  Europe  unskilled 
laborers,  whom  they  employed  at  much  lower  wages  than 
the  American  workmen  could  afford  to  accept,  if  they 
and  their  families  were  to  live  in  their  usual  comfort 
and  to  educate  their  children.  Congress  in  consequence 
enacted  a law  forbidding  any  person  or  corporation  to 
import  ordinary  laborers  under  contract  to  perform  labor 
or  service.  The  law,  however,  provided  for  employing 
“ skilled  workmen  in  foreign  countries  to  perform  such 
labor  in  the  United  States,  in  or  upon  any  new  industry 
not  at  present  therein  established,”  and  also  for  engag- 
ing, “ professional  actors,  artists,  lecturers  or  singers,  or 
persons  employed  strictly  as  personal  or  domestic  ser- 
vants.” This  law  was  afterward  amended  so  as  to  pro- 
hibit objectionable  persons  landing,  and  in  addition  pro- 
vided that  they  be  sent  back  to  the  port  from  which 
they  came. 

Provision  was  also  made  by  law  for  adjusting,  by 


A SINGULAR  OVERSIGHT. 


1125 


means  of  arbitration,  differences  as  to  wages  between  chap. 
employers  and  employes.  President  Cleveland,  in  his  LXX1, 
Message  of  April,  1886,  recommended  that  the  existing  1688. 
Labor  Bureau  should  be  enlarged  to  a Board  of  Com- 
missioners, with  power  of  arbitration.  This  was  done, 
the  Commission  being  empowered  to  select  arbitrators 
to  whom  “ the  matters  of  difference  are  to  be  submitted 
in  writing  by  all  the  parties,”  and  to  the  latter  is  given 
“ full  opportunity  to  be  heard  on  oath  ; ” the  decision  of 
the  arbitrators  to  be  signed  with  their  respective  names 
and  sent  to  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  who  shall  make 
such  decision  public ; the  entire  expense  to  be  borne  by 
the  National  government. 

The  unusual  number,  in  recent  years,  of  the  deaths  of 
Presidents  and  Vice-Presidents  when  in  office,  arrested 
the  attention  of  the  thoughtful.  This  was  notable  in  the 
case  of  President  Garfield,  and  had  been  emphasized  by 
the  death  of  Vice-President  Hendricks  on  November  25, 

1885.  President  Cleveland  called  attention  to  it  in  his 
first  Message,  December,  1885,  and  Congress  prudently 
thereon  passed  a law  regulating  the  succession  in  such 
contingencies.  The  following  statute  was  enacted : “In 
case  of  removal,  death,  resignation  or  disability  of  both 
the  President  and  Vice-President,  a member  of  the  June  is. 
Cabinet  shall,  in  the  following  order,  act  as  President 
until  the  disability  is  removed  or  a President  elected : 

The  Secretary  of  State  ; that  of  the  Treasury  ; that  of 
War ; the  Attorney-General,  Postmaster-General,  and 
Secretary  of  the  Navy.”  It  is  also  provided  : “ That 
whenever  the  power  and  duties  of  the  office  of  President 
of  the  United  States  shall  devolve  upon  any  of  the  per- 
sons named  herein,  if  Congress  be  not  in  session  . . . 

such  person  shall  issue  a proclamation  convening  Con- 
gress in  extraordinary  session,  giving  twenty  days’  notice 
of  the  time  of  meeting.” 

It  seems  a singular  oversight,  but  as  yet  there  has  been 


1126 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  made  no  provision  bv  Congress  for  the  contingency  of 

r yvt  1 * o C-  * 

the  death  or  disability  of  a President-elect  before  the 
FeiTa  time  specified  for  him  to  assnme  office. 

For  the  pnrpose  of  delining  more  clearly  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  votes  for  President  and  Vice-President,  and 
the  mode  of  their  counting  in  the  joint  Convention  of 
the  Senate  and  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Congress 
enacted  an  Electoral  law.  an  important  item  of  which  is 
that  the  determination  of  the  State  authorities  as  to  who 
are  the  electors  of  the  State  ••  shall  be  conclusive,  and 
shall  govern  in  the  counting  of  the  electoral  votes,  as 
provided  in  the  Constitution,  so  far  as  the  ascertainment 
of  the  electors  appointed  by  such  State  is  concerned." 
It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  principle  embodied  in  this 
law  was  the  rule  adopted  and  acted  upon  by  the  special 
**  Electoral  Commission  *'  1 which,  in  IS 77.  was  specially 
constituted  to  determine  the  legality  of  the  electoral 
votes  given  the  respective  presidential  candidates. 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes  and  Samuel  J.  Tilden.  That  Com- 
mission decided  that  the  “ votes  to  be  counted  are  those 
presented  by  the  States,  and  when  ascertained  and  pre- 
sented by  the  proper  authorities  of  the  States  they  must 
l>e  counted.*’  Thus,  in  counting  the  electoral  votes  in 
the  joint  Convention  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  it 
is  forbidden  to  go  behind  the  authenticated  returns  from 
the  States. 

In  a country  like  ours,  possessing  a territory  so  exten- 
sive as  to  have  an  unusual  variety  of  climate,  and  having, 
also,  a population  that  is  industrious  and  progressive,  of 
necessity  the  traffic  between  the  different  sections  must 
become  great  and  quite  complicated.  The  latter  phase 
would  be  the  outgrowth  of  rival  and  parallel  lines  of 
railroads,  extending  from  the  vast  grain  fields  and  pas- 
ture lands  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  cities 
and  seaports  on  the  Atlantic  slope.  These  rival  railways* 

1 Hist.  p.  1070. 


INTER-STATE  COMMERCE  ACT. 


1127 


in  their  competition  with  one  another,  were  induced  to  chap. 
“cut  rates”  both  on  freight  and  passengers  to  such  an  LXXI 
extent  as  to  cause  a deficiency  in  their  respective  in-  ^87^ 
comes.  In  order,  therefore,  to  make  up  these  losses, 
they  charged  much  higher  rates  on  the  portions  of  their 
several  routes  where  this  rivalry  did  not  exist.  In  con- 
sequence, the  people  who  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
latter  became  the  victims  of  these  unequal  rates  of 
charge,  and  they  appealed  for  relief  to  the  National 
government.  To  remedy  the  evil,  Congress  passed  what 
is  termed  the  “ Inter-State  Commerce  Act.” 

In  order  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  law, 
five  Commissioners  are  appointed  by  the  President. 

This  Commission  is  authorized  “ to  inquire  into  the 
management  of  the  business  of  all  common  carriers, 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act.” 

It  is  provided : “ That  all  charges  made  for  any  ser- 
vice rendered  or  to  be  rendered  in  the  transportation  of 
passengers  or  of  property  from  one  State  or  Territory  to 
another  shall  be  reasonable  and  just ; and  every  unjust 
and  unreasonable  charge  for  such  service  is  prohibited 
and  declared  to  be  unlawful.”  On  these  general  prin- 
ciples the  Commission  is  empowered  to  act,  and  it  is 
hoped  in  the  end  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  people  at 
large,  though  it  is  thought  in  some  cases  not  to  be  equally 
fair  and  just  toward  the  common  carriers. 

When  the  time  came  to  nominate  candidates  for  the 
Presidency  and  the  Vice-Presidency  four  Conventions 
were  held  : That  of  the  Union  Labor  Party  met  in  Cin-  1888 
cinnati,  and  nominated  Alson  J.  Streeter  of  Illinois  for  May 16 
the  Presidency  and  Charles  E.  Cunningham  of  Arkansas 
for  the  Vice-Presidency ; the  Convention  of  the  Prohi- 
bitionists met  at  Indianapolis,  and  nominated  Clinton  B.  May  31 
Fiske  of  New  Jersey  for  the  first  office  and  John  A. 
Brooks  of  Missouri  for  the  second  ; the  Democratic  Con- 
vention met  at  St.  Louis,  and  renominated  President  June7- 


1123 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  Cleveland,  and  for  the  second  office  Allen  J.  Thnrman 
IIX1,  of  Ohio ; that  of  the  Republicans  met  at  Chicago,  and 

1888.  nominated  for  the  first  office  Beniamin  Harrison  of  In- 

June21.  J 

diana  and  for  the  second  Levi  Parsons  Morton  of  2sew 
York. 

As  to  the  principles  on  which  the  canvass  was  to  be 
conducted  by  the  two  main  political  parties,  the  Presi- 
dent had  given  the  key,  as  has  been  mentioned, 1 in  his 
Annual  Message  the  previous  December,  and  the  Demo- 
cratic platform  was  framed  to  coincide  with  the  theories 
of  that  document.  After  endorsing  the  platform  of  1884 
in  its  position  on  the  tariff  and  its  opposition  to  what 
were  termed  “ sumptuary  laws,'7  the  Convention  said : 
"We  endorse  the  views  of  President  Cleveland  in  his 
last  Annual  Message  upon  the  question  of  tariff  reduc- 
tion ; we  also  endorse  the  efforts  of  our  Democratic 
Representatives  in  Congress  to  secure  a reduction  of 
excessive  taxation,"  the  latter  statement  being  in  allu- 
sion to  the  Mills  Tariff  Bill,  then  before  the  Lower  House. 
The  Republican  platform  said:  "We  are  uncompro- 
misingly in  favor  of  the  American  system  of  protection ; 
we  protest  against  its  destruction,  as  proposed  by  the 
President  and  his  party.  They  serve  the  interests  of 
Europe  : we  will  support  the  interests  of  America.” 

Other  than  the  tariff  position,  both  platforms  contained 
chiefly  the  usual  “ pointing  with  pride 77  to  their  own, 
and  “ viewing  with  alarm 77  the  other  party's  doings  or 
Xov.  6.  omissions.  The  Republican  nominees,  Harrison  and 
Morton,  were  elected. 

In  the  second  session  of  the  Fiftieth  Congress  was 

1889.  established  a “ Department  of  Agriculture."  the  Secretary 
of  which  is  a member  of  the  Cabinet. 

Under  the  usual  conditions,  four  new  States  were  ad- 
Feb.  27.  mitted  to  the  LYiion : South  Dakota,  Xorth  Dakota, 
Montana  and  Washington. 

1 Hist.  p.  1101. 


1129 


CHAPTEB  LXXII. 

Harrison’s  Administration. 

Sketch  of  Life. — Inauguration  Ceremonies. — Inaugural  Address. — 

The  Cabinet. — The  last  National  Centennial  Celebration. — Cere- 
monies at  Washington’s  Inauguration. — The  Imitations. — The 
Coming  from  Elizabethport. — The  School  Girls. — Religious  Ser- 
vices.— Meeting  at  the  Statue  in  Wall  street. — Military  Parade. — 

The  Civic  Parade. 

Benjamin  Harrison,  the  great-great-grandfather  of  chap. 
the  present  President,  was  a native  of  the  Colony  of  LXXIL 
Virginia.  We  infer  he  was  held  in  high  respect  by  his 
fellow-colonists,  inasmuch  as  he  was  at  times  a member, 
and  also  Speaker,  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.  In  1765 
he  took  decided  ground  in  opposition  to  the  famous 
Stamp  Act.  He  was  a member  of  the  greatly  influential 
Continental  Congresses  of  1774,  1775  and  1776.  As  a 
member  of  the  latter  he  signed  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. The  second  son  of  Benjamin  Harrison, — 
William  Henry, — was  elected  President  of  the  United 
States1  by  an  unprecedented  majority.  He  was  the  1340, 
grandfather  of  the  Benjamin  Harrison  who  at  this  writ- 
ing is  President. 

Benjamin  Harrison  was  born  in  the  homestead  of  his  1333 
grandfather  at  North  Bend,  Ohio.  He  grew  up  aAus-20* 
farmer’s  son,  and  did  his  share  of  work  when  not  at 
school.  After  being  prepared  at  an  academy  in  the  vi- 
cinity he  entered  Miami  University,  at  Oxford,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1852,  in  his  nineteenth  year. 

1 Hist.  p.  734. 


1130 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  His  position  was  higli  in  the  studies  required  in  the  coh 
LXXU.  ]ege  an(j  a]so  amorLg  Pig  fellow-students,  he  being 
especially  noted  for  his  off-hand  speeches,  which,  owing 
to  their  clearness  of  expression  and  appropriateness  oi 
thought,  appeared  to  have  been  written  out  in  his  studj 
instead  of  being  impromptu.  On  graduation  he  began 
1854.  the  study  of  law,  and  in  1851  we  find  him  beginning  its 
practice  in  the  City  of  Indianapolis.  In  1860  he  was 
elected  Reporter  of  the  State  Supreme  Court. 

Troublous  times  for  the  Union  were  foreshadowed. 
1961  Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired  upon,  and  that  act  fired  the 
Ap  i 12.  hearts  of  the  loyal  men  of  the  nation.  Into  the  preceding 
exciting  Presidential  canvass  Harrison  entered  heartily, 
and  was  in  deep  sympathy  with  the  political  principles 
of  the  party  that  elected.  Abraham  Lincoln. 

When  President  Lincoln  issued  a proclamation  for 
troops  in  1862,  Harrison  offered  his  services  to  Governor 
Oliver  P.  Morton,  was  accepted,  and  authorized  to  raise 
a regiment.  He  acted  promptly.  On  his  way  back  to 
his  office  he  purchased  a military  cap,  secured  a fifer  and 
drummer,  and  at  once  threw  out  a flag  from  his  office 
window  and  began  recruiting  men  for  the  Union  army. 
One  company  was  soon  obtained,  put  into  camp  and  set 
at  learning  to  drill,  Harrison  having,  at  his  own  expense, 
employed  a drill-master  from  Chicago.  The  regiment — 
the  Seventieth  Indiana  Volunteers — was  completed  in  a 
comparatively  short  time,  and  the  Governor  appointed 
Harrison  Colonel.  Distrusting  his  own  knowledge  of 
military  tactics,  Harrison  declined  the  office,  but  was 
finally  persuaded  to  accept  it.  He  entered  the  service 
as  soon  as  possible  with  his  regiment,  being  assigned  to 
duty  under  General  Buell,  in  Kentucky.  He  commanded 
his  regiment  with  marked  success  in  a number  of  bat- 
tles. Afterward,  for  his  bravery  and  discretion,  he  was 
recommended  by  General  Joseph  Hooker,  under  whose 
eye  he  had  come,  for  brevet  in  the  grade  of  Brigadier- 


AN  INCIDENT. 


1131 


General,  as  an  “ officer  of  superior  abilities,  and  of  great  chap. 
professional  and  personal  worth.”  He  received  the IjXXir> 
brevet  January  23,  1865. 

When  at  Atlanta  with  Sherman,  Harrison  was  ordered 
by  the  War  Department  to  report  at  Indianapolis  for 
special  duty.  That  duty  was  to  obtain  recruits  for  the 
army.  Aided  by  his  popularity  he  was  so  successful  in 
enlisting  men  that  the  work  was  finished  by  the  9th  of 
November,  and  he  was  free  to  set  out  to  join  his  com- 
mand in  the  march  to  the  sea,  but  being  unavoidably  de- 
layed, he  arrived  too  late,  as  General  Sherman  was  already 
far  on  his  march.  He  found,  however,  an  order  to  report  at 
Chattanooga.  There  he  was  put  at  the  head  of  a brigade, 
and  transferred  to  the  command  of  General  George  H. Dec-  a 
Thomas,  at  Nashville,  Tenn. 

An  incident  that  occurred  here  reveals  in  one  respect 
the  character  of  the  man.  The  weather  became  un- 
usually cold,  the  earth  being  covered  with  snow  and  ice ; 
his  brigade  was  at  the  front  and  the  sentries  placed,  one  of 
whom,  R.  M.  Smock  of  Indianapolis,  relates : “I  saw  a 
man  approaching  from  the  direction  of  the  officers’  quar- 
ters ; I halted  him,  and  when  he  gave  the  countersign 
and  advanced,  I saw  it  was  Colonel  Harrison.  He  had  a 
large  can  of  hot  coffee,  with  which  he  regaled  the  sen- 
tries in  front  of  his  brigade,  lest,  as  he  said, 4 they  should 
freeze  to  death.’  ” 

After  the  battle  of  Nashville,  Harrison  was  ordered 
to  report  to  General  Sherman  ar  Savannah,  Georgia ; but 
having  been  detained,  he  was  able  to  join  him  at  Golds- 
boro, North  Carolina.  He  remained  in  the  service  to  the 
end  of  the  war. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  General  Harrison  returned 
to  the  active  duties  of  his  profession,  having  been  in  1864 
re-elected  Supreme  Court  Reporter.  He  was  not,  how- 
ever, permitted  by  his  political  friends  to  be  inactive 
when  questions  of  a national  character  were  to  be  dis- 


1132 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  cussed,  and  in  such  debates  be  took  part,  especially  in 
.LXX1_  several  Presidential  campaigns. 

In  1876,  General  Harrison  was  .Republican  candidate 
for  Governor  of  Indiana,  and  ran  ahead  of  his  ticket, 
although  defeated  by  a small  plurality.  He  was  urged 
in  1880  to  permit  his  name  to  come  before  the  people  as 
a candidate  for  the  Presidency,  but  refused.  He  also  de- 
clined an  invitation  to  become  a member  of  the  cabinet 
of  President  Garfield.  He  had,  meanwhile,  in  1881, 
been  elected  almost  unanimously  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  At  the  end  of  his  six  years’  senatorship 
he  retired  once  more  to  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
and  while  thus  in  private  life  was  nominated  for  the 
^ Presidency  by  the  Republican  National  Convention  as- 
June  sembled  at  Chicago.  More  directly  than  in  1884,  the 
canvass  turned  on  44  tariff  reduction,”  as  called  for  by  the 
Democrats,  and  44  protection  to  American  industries,”  as 
the  Republican  motto.  As  stated  above,  Mr.  Harrison 
was  elected. 

The  ceremonies  pertaining  to  the  inauguration  of 
1389.  President  Harrison  were  the  most  imposing  in  our  his- 
4.  tory.  It  is  estimated  that  about  100,000  persons  attended 
from  all  sections  of  the  Union.  The  inaugural  address, 
in  its  views  of  national  affairs,  was  broad  and  compre- 
hensive, and  expressed  in  terms  clear  and  terse.  In  re- 
spect to  the  principal  feature  of  the  discussion  in  the 
recent  canvass,  he  recognized  among  the  people  a *4  pa- 
triotic interest  in  the  preservation  and  development  of 
domestic  industries  and  defense  of  our  working  people 
against  injurious  foreign  competition.”  In  allusion  to 
the  first  tariff  bill  of  the  Nation  enacted  by  Congress  and 
1790.  signed  bv  George  Washington,1  he  said : 44  It  is  not  a de- 
parture,  but  a return,  that  we  have  witnessed.  ...  If 
the  question  [of  the  tariff]  became  in  any  way  sectional, 
it  was  only  because  slavery  existed  in  some  of  the  States.” 

1 Hist.,  pp.  575,  576. 


harrison’s  cabinet. 


1133 


Again  : “ Surely  I do  not  misinterpret  the  spirit  of  the  chap. 
occasion  when  I assume  that  the  whole  body  of  the  people 
covenant  with  me  and  with  one  another  to-day,  to  sup- 
port and  defend  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  of  the 
States,  to  yield  willing  obedience  to  all  the  laws,  and 
each  to  every  other  citizen,  his  equal  civil  and  political 
rights.” 

President  Harrison  sent  to  the  Senate  for  their  con- 
firmation the  names  of  the  following  gentlemen  as  mem- 
bers of  his  cabinet — they  were  all  confirmed  within  half 
an  hour : James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine,  to  be  Secretary  of 
State;  William  Windom,  of  Minnesota,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury ; Redfield  Proctor,  of  Y ermont,  Secretary  of 
War ; William  H.  H.  Miller,  of  Indiana,  Attorney-Gen- 
eral ; John  Wanamaker,  of  Pennsylvania,  Postmaster- 
General;  Benjamin  F.  Tracy,  of  Hew  York,  Secretary  of 
vhe  Navy ; John  W.  Noble,  of  Missouri,  Secretary  of  the 
Interior ; and  Jeremiah  M.  Rusk,  of  Wisconsin,  Secretary 
of  Agriculture. 

The  last  of  our  national  centennial  celebrations — that 
of  the  first  Inauguration  of  George  Washington — took 
place  in  1889.  The  Continental  Congress,  during  the 
session  of  1788,  after  it  was  known  that  a sufficient 
number  of  the  States  had  voted  to  ratify  the  Constitu- 
tion, enacted  that  Presidential  electors  should  be  chosen 
on  the  first  Wednesday  of  January,  1889,  that  they  should 
cast  their  votes  for  President  and  Vice-President  on  the 
first  Wednesday  of  February,  and  that  the  two  houses  of 
Congress  should  meet  in  New  York  City,  on  the  first 
Wednesday  of  March, — which  that  year  came  on  the 
fourth. 

On  March  third , at  sunset,  the  citizens  of  New  York 
fired  thirteen  guns  in  honor  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
representing  the  Thirteen  Colonies  that  became  inde- 
pendent States  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776.  That  Congress 
was  to  expire  on  the  morrow  at  noon,  and  the  Congress 


1134 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  of  the  new  nation1  was  to  meet  at  the  same  lionr.  The 
11X11 ' morning  of  the  fourth  was  ushered  in  by  the  firing  of 
cannon  and  the  ringing  of  bells.  At  the  hour  of  noon 
on  that  day,  only  eleven  guns  were  fired : they  were  in 
honor  of  those  States  that  had  voted  to  ratify  the  Consti- 
tution— Xorth  Carolina  and  Rhode  Island  being  the  de- 
linquents. 

Numerous  delays,  caused  principally  by  the  badness 
of  the  roads,  the  distance  and  the  slow  means  of  travel- 
ing. chiefly  on  horseback,  prevented  a quorum  of  either 
house  being  present  on  the  fourth  of  March.  The 
Senate,  however,  obtained  one  by  April  first,  the  House 
having  been  ready  for  business  a day  or  two  previous. 
April  Monday,  the  fifth  of  April,  the  joint  Convention  of 
the  House  and  Senate  proceeded  to  count  the  electoral 
votes  for  President  and  Vice-President.  It  was  found 
that  George  Washington,  of  Virginia,  was  unanimously 
chosen  President,  having  sixty-nine  votes,  and  that  John 
Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  having  thirty-four  votes,  was 
chosen  Vice-President.  Messengers  were  sent  imme- 
diately and  with  all  speed  to  inform  these  gentlemen  of 
their  election — Charles  Thomson.  Secretary  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  to  Mount  V emon,  and  Sylvanus  Bourne 
to  Braintree.  Massachusetts.  The  Vice-President  was  the 
first  to  arrive  in  Xew  York,  having  been  escorted  the 
entire  way  by  volunteer  complimentary  guards  of  honor. 
He  at  once  took  the  oath  and  entered  upon  his  duty  as 
the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  which  was  already  in 
session.  Some  days  later.  Washington  also  arrived,  hav- 
ing come  the  whole  way  from  Virginia  on  horseback. 

April  thirtieth.  It  became 
without  legal  authority,  to 
commence  Presidential  terms  at  noon  on  the  fourth  day , 
instead  of  on  tli z first  Wednesday,  of  March. 

The  Centennial  of  the  Inauguration  of  George 
1 Hi*t..  p.  573. 


April  The  Inauguration  took  place 
' the  custom  thereafter,  but 


ELIZABETHPORT WALL  STREET. 


1135 


Washington,  as  the  first  President  of  the  United  States, 
was  celebrated  by  the  people  throughout  the  Union ; 
though,  as  was  fitting,  the  main  ceremonies,  which  lasted 
three  days,  were  carried  out  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
where  that  Inauguration  took  place.  It  was  properly  de- 
cided to  imitate,  as  far  as  circumstances  would  permit,  the 
manner  in  which  the  original  one  was  conducted.1 

Washington’s  journey  from  Mount  Vernon  to  New 
York  had  been  a spontaneous  and  continuous  ovation  on 
the  part  of  the  people  dwelling  along  the  route,  especially 
in  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  villages  through 
which  he  passed.  Only  two  of  these  demonstrations 
could  be  imitated  with  much  appearance  of  success. 

The  first  attempt  was  in  bringing  President  Harri- 
son and  his  escort,  such  as  committees  and  a few  invited 
guests,  from  Elizabetliport,  on  the  New  Jersey  shore 
of  Staten  Island  Sound,  twelve  miles  southwest  of 
New  York  City.  The  great  New  York  Bay,  upper  and 
lower,  was  swarming  with  ships  of  every  description,  in 
number  estimated  to  be  between  six  and  seven  hundred. 
The  police  steamer,  the  Patrol , with  a sufficient  force 
on  board  to  preserve  order,  kept  a wide  open  space 
through  the  midst  of  these  ships,  and  in  almost  a straight 
line  from  Elizabetliport  to  the  foot  of  Wall  street,  East 
River,  where  Washington  had  landed.  Among  these 
ships  were  eleven  National  war  vessels,  with  their  crowd 
of  sailors  and  marines ; revenue  cutters  and  merchant- 
men ; private  yachts,  excursion  steamers,  iron  steamboats, 
river  and  sound  steamers  ; immense  ferry-boats  and  com- 
paratively small  but  saucy  tugs,  flitting  here  and  there, 
but  all  under  perfect  control  and  in  order.  The  Nation’s 
flag — now  for  the  first  time  radiant  with  forty-two  stars — 
was  predominant  among  the  gay  emblems  of  corporations 
and  private  yachting  clubs — the  whole  appearing  like  a 
collection  of  innumerable  miniature  rainbows.  At  the 
1 Hist.,  pp.  572,  573. 


CHAP. 

LXXI1, 


1889 

April 

29. 


1136 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chajp.  time  appointed,  the  Dispatch,  a United  States  vessel, 
LlL3LLI'  having  on  board  the  Presidential  party,  started  from 
Elizabethport  along  the  open  space.  When  approaching 
from  the  west  she  was  greeted  by  gims  from  the  war- 
vessels,  and  huzzas  from  the  marines  and  sailors,  the  lat- 
ter at  a signal  instantly  manning  the  yards,  while  cheers 
of  welcome  rang  out  from  the  multitudes  aboard  the 
numerous  other  boats  and  ships. 

When  the  D> 'patch  arrived  opposite  Wall  street,  in 
imitation  of  the  44  Thirteen  Pilots, v a crew  of  thirteen 
sea-captains  belonging  to  the  Marine  Society  rowed  the 
barge  which  carried  the  President  to  the  pier,  where  he 
was  welcomed  by  the  Committee,  whose  Chairman,  the 
venerable  ex-Secretary  of  State,  Hamilton  Fish,  made  a 
brief  but  appropriate  address.  The  procession  moved  up 
Wall  street  to  the  Equitable  Building  on  Broadway,  where 
a reception  and  luncheon  were  had.  Meanwhile  an  in- 
teresting group  of  school-girls  was  waiting  at  the  City 
Hall  to  receive  the  President,  in  memory  of  the  greet- 
ing given  to  Washington  by  young  girls  of  Trenton, 
X.  J.,  when  on  his  way  to  Xew  York  in  17S9.  The  girls 
were  tastefully  dressed  in  white,  and  were  selected  from 
the  Grammar  departments  of  the  public  schools,  while 
thirteen  were  taken  from  the  senior  class  of  the  Xormal 
College.  The  girls,  the  flowers,  the  addresses,  the  spec- 
tators, made  a pretty  and  memorable  effect. 

The  exercises  of  the  first  day  were  closed  by  the  In- 
augural Centennial  Ball  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House, 
in  which  a number  of  the  descendants  of  those  who  took 
part  in  the  one  of  1789  participated. 

The  second  day  of  the  ceremonies  was  ushered  in  by 
1889.  religious  exercises.  At  the  call  of  the  President's  proe- 
lamation,  services  of  thanksgivings  for  the  past  and 
prayers  for  the  blessings  of  God  upon  the  future  of  the 
Xation  now  entering  on  its  second  century,  were  held  in 
the  churches  throughout  the  Union  at  9 A.  M.  The 


THE  PROCESSION. 


1137 


Center  of  attraction  in  New  York  was  at  St.  Paul’s  Church, 
to  which1  Washington  after  his  inauguration,  accom- 
panied by  the  members  of  Congress,  had  gone  to  return 
thanks  to  God  and  implore  His  blessing  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment just  instituted.  Bishop  Provost,  Chaplain  of  the 
Senate,  had  officiated.  In  the  same  church  President 
Harrison  and  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  who  could  attend, 
were  present ; the  services  were  conducted  in  the  usual 
form,  Bishop  Henry  C.  Potter  making  an  address.  Pres- 
ident Harrison  occupied  the  pew  in  which  Washington 
was  accustomed  to  sit — which  has  always  been  preserved 
in  its  original  form.  Ex-Presidents  Hayes  and  Cleve- 
land were  present,  besides  numerous  other  prominent 
men. 

The  assembly  adjourned  at  the  close  of  the  services 
to  meet  at  the  historic  place  in  Wall  street,  where  stands 
a bronze  statue  of  Washington  on  the  spot  where  the 
original  inauguration  took  place.  After  prayer,  addresses 
were  made,  the  chief  orator  being  Cliauncey  M.  Depew. 

At  the  close  of  these  services  President  Harrison  pro- 
ceeded to  Madison  Square,  where  he  was  to  review  the 
military  procession  reaching  from  Wall  street  to  Fifty- 
sixth  street — about  four  miles.  For  the  accommodation 
of  spectators — of  which,  all  told,  there  were  perhaps  a 
million,  as  every  available  point  for  seeing  was  occupied 
— temporary  platforms  or  seats  were  prepared  in  many 
places  on  the  streets  along  the  route,  in  front  of  public 
buildings  and  parks.  The  private  residences  on  the  line 
of  march  were  elaborately  decorated.  This  parade  of 
citizen-soldiers  was  the  greatest  thus  far  in  our  history. 
They  came  from  twenty-three  States,  extending  from 
Maine  to  Louisiana,  and  all  along  the  Atlantic  slope ; there 
were  present  also  twenty-nine  Governors  of  States,  who 
were  mostly  accompanied  by  their  staffs.  The  whole 
number  of  troops  exceeded  fifty  thousand.  The  exer- 
1 Hist.,  p.  573. 


CHAP. 

LXXII. 


1889. 


lloS 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXXII. 


1889. 
May  1. 


c-ises  of  the  second  day  closed  with  an  Inauguration  Cen- 
tennial Banquet. 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  continued  unabated, 
and  they  entered  into  the  processions  jf  the  third  da^ 
with  a zest  equal  to  that  of  the  two  previous.  The  last 
day  in  truth,  represented  causes  that  came  home  to  them 
individually,  more  than  the  displays  of  the  other  two,  as 
it  was  an  exhibition  in  favor  of  the  educational  and  in- 
dustrial interests  of  the  Xation ; showing  the  great  ad- 
vancement made  during  the  first  century  of  the  Xation's 
life,  in  the  paths  of  useful  labor,  of  domestic  peace  and 
material  progress  in  a Christianized  civilization.  The  de- 
tail is  too  extensive  for  us  to  enter  upon  in  this  connec- 
tion. The  participants  in  the  parade  were  drawn  from 
the  city  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  including  students 
of  Columbia  College,  of  the  Xew  York  City  College  and 
of  the  University  of  Xew  York  ; followed  by  boys,  pupils 
in  the  public  schools.  4,000  strong : and  they,  by  the  va- 
rious trade  and  industrial  representations.  Applications 
had  been  received  by  the  Committee,  from  civic,  com- 
mercial and  industrial  societies — foreign-born  and  native 
alike,  all  of  which  designated  the  number  belonging  to 
each  who  wished  to  participate  in  the  processions,  the 
whole  number  amounting  to  110.000  ; but  the  Committee 
was  compelled  to  limit  the  number  pro  rata,  so  that  only 
75,000  could  be  in  line. 

This  celebration  closed  the  first  hundred  years  of  the 
Xation5  s life  and  history,  and.  under  wonderfully  changed 
circumstances,  it  has  entered  upon  its  second  century. 


nay 


CHAPTER  LXXIII. 

1789  AND  1889 THE  CONTRAST. 

The  Territory  of  the  Union  in  1789  and  in  1889. — Its  Comparison 
with  Europe. — The  Diversified  Climate. — The  Essential  Produc- 
tions.— Crude  Manufactures  and  Trade. — The  Two  National 
Debts. — The  Means  of  Paying. — Condition  of  the  Churches  in  1789 
and  in  1889. — Zeal  and  Benevolent  Institutions. — Theological 
Discussions. — The  Effects  Produced. — The  Anti-Slavery  Agita- 
tion.— Commerce,  Agriculture,  Invention. — Immigration. — Edu- 
cation.— Suffrage. — Literature. — Language. 

In  closing:  the  liistorv  of  the  first  hundred  years  of  chap. 

. . . / . . J LXXIII 

the  Nation’s  life,  it  will  interest  the  intelligent  reader  to  

compare  the  salient  points  of  difference  in  the  conditions 

under  whicli  it  began  its  first  century,  and  those  under 

which  it  enters  upon  its  second. 

The  territory  of  the  United  States  consisted  in  1789 
of  a comparatively  narrow  strip  lying  along  the  Atlantic 
slope,  extending  from  the  eastern  boundary  of  Maine 
to  the  northern  line  of  Florida.  Sometime  before  and 

1749 

during  the  French  and  Indian  war,  large  numbers  of  ad-  to 
venturous  spirits  threaded  their  way  westward  over  the 
Alleghany  Mountains  into  the  regions  beyond.  At  the 
termination  of  that  war  a second  migration,  consisting  of 
many  thousands,  began  crossing  over  by  the  famous 
Braddock  1 road  into  Western  Pennsylvania,  and  there 
founded  settlements  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Monon- 
gahela.  At  the  same  time  similar  migrations  were  on 
1 Hist.,  pp.  280,  585. 


1140 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  their  way  from  the  same  State,  along  the  more  northern 
LXXIII.  roa(j  cu^  jjy  Qeneral  Forbes,  to  the  vicinity  of  the  site 
1773.  of  the  present  City  of  Pittsburg.  Afterward,  equally 
adventurous  and  bold-hearted  emigrants  passed  over  from 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  through  the  south  middle 
portion  of  the  same  mountains,  and  under  great  difficul- 
ties established  homes  for  their  families  within  the  “ dark 
and  bloody  ground  ” now  known  as  Kentucky.1  These 
were  the  only  settlements  of  that  day  outlying  the  At- 
lantic slope. 

The  opening  of  the  second  century  in  this  respect  is 
in  marked  contrast.  It  finds  the  Nation  occupying  a 
vast  territory,  extending  east  and  west  from  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  to  the  Pacific ; and  north  and  south  from  the  Florida 
Keys,  the  north  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  line 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  thence  to  and  along  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  to  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude  on  the  northwest, 
and  a line  drawn  through  the  middle  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
and  on  the  northeast  to  the  47th  parallel.  A further  com- 
parison may  aid  the  American  people  to  appreciate  more 
fully  their  goodly  heritage.  The  domain  of  the  United 
States,  excluding  Alaska,  is  estimated  to  lack  only  a few 
hundred  thousand  square  miles  of  being  as  large  as  all 
Europe.  The  territory  of  Europe  extends  from  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar  to  four  degrees  beyond  the  Arctic 
Circle  ; along  this  circle,  on  both  sides,  is  a vast  barren 
waste,  because  of  the  rigidly  cold  climate.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  territory  of  the  United  States  lies  wholly  within 
the  choicest  portion  of  the  North  Temperate  Zone,  as  it 
extends  from  the  49th  parallel  down  to  within  half  a 
degree  of  the  Tropic  of  Cancer  ; nor  is  there  an  acre  of 
soil  within  its  boundaries,  except  on  the  high  mountains, 
that  is  unavailable  because  of  the  climate  for  pasturage 
or  cultivation. 

The  contrast  with  Europe  is,  perhaps,  still  more  re- 
1 Hist.,  p.  507. 


A COPIOUS  RAINFALL. 


1141 


markable  in  regard  to  climate  and  rainfall,  as  the  United  chap. 
States  appear  to  derive  more  benefit  from  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  equatorial  currents  than  both  Asia  and  Europe  com- 
bined. The  Atlantic  current  furnishes  the  Gulf  Stream, 
which  brings  the  blessings  of  moisture  and  warmth  to 
Western  Europe ; but  it  also  furnishes  what  is  equally 
important — a copious  rainfall  to  our  great  Mississippi  Val- 
ley.1 The  Pacific  equatorial  current  is  the  origin  of  the 
Japan  current — three  times  the  size  of  the  Gulf  Stream, 
and  four  degrees  warmer — which  causes  the  mild  climate 
and  moisture  of  our  Pacific  and  Northwestern  States, 
away  up  to  Alaska.2  The  influence  of  this  warm  current, 
which  expands  all  over  the  surface  of  the  North  Pacific, 
extends  along  the  entire  southern  portion  of  Alaska,  and 
to  the  south  down  the  coast  beyond  San  Francisco.  The 
winds  from  off  it  are  loaded  with  warmth  and  moisture, 
and  penetrate  inland  about  one  thousand  miles,  passing 
over  Oregon  and  Washington  and  through  the  gaps  of 
the  Cascade  and  the  Pocky  Mountain  ranges,  until  they 
meet  and  mingle  with  the  western  flank  of  the  vapor- 
loaded  winds  from  the  Atlantic  equatorial  current.  The 
latter  are  deflected  by  the  Sierra  Madre  Mountains  of 
Mexico,  and  flow  north  toward  the  pole  to  restore  the 
equilibrium  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  extent  of  territory  occupied  by  the  United  States, 
and  the  consequent  diversity  of  climate,  render  the  Ameri- 
can people  virtually  independent  of  the  rest  of  the  world 
for  the  necessaries  of  life,  such  as  clothing  and  substan- 
tial food  of  all  kinds,  the  only  exceptions  being  tea 
and  coffee,  chocolate,  and  a few  spices  from  the  tropics, 
that  have  in  time  become  essential  to  the  comfort  of  the 
people,  and  as  delicacies  for  the  table.  We  are  also 
dependent,  for  the  most  part,  on  foreign  lands  for  raw 
silk  and  india-rubber.  Thus,  the  North  and  North-middle 

1 Natural  Resources  of  the  U.  S.;  J.  H.  Patton;  pp.  351-360;  364. 

2 Nat.  Resources,  pp.  369-377. 


m2 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  produce  the  cereals  and  orchard  fruits,  while  the  Soutli- 
IXX  11  middle  furnishes  tobacco  and  cotton,  and  the  extreme 
southern  portion  sugar-cane,  rice  and  sub-tropical  fruits. 
It  is  interesting  to  know  that  the  mineral  wealth  of  the 
United  States,  in  its  diversified  forms,  much  transcends  in 
importance  all  that  is  in  the  world  beside,  thus  far  dis- 
covered.1 

In  1789  the  only  means  of  transportation  within  the 

Union  was  by  animal  power,  such  as  by  pack-horses  over 

the  Alleghanies,  or  traveling  on  horseback  or  bv  coach. 
© © «/ 

while  freight  was  carried  in  wagons  drawn  bv  horses  or 
oxen ; by  sailing  vessels  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  or  in 
scows  or  flatboats  on  the  rivers.  The  great  National 
road,  constructed  by  the  general  Government  across  the 
Alleghanies,  from  Cumberland.  Maryland,  to  the  Ohio 
1820.  Eiver,  was  finished  to  that  point  in  1820.  Thirty-six 
years  after  the  first  inauguration  of  Washington,  the 
Erie  Canal,  made  by  the  State  of  New  York,  was  opened. 
1825.  It  united  at  Albany  the  Great  Lakes  with  the  Hudson 
Liver,  and  through  that  with  the  Atlantic  in  New  York 
harbor.  In  after  years  a number  of  other  canals  were 
constructed  in  different  parts  of  the  Union,  nearly  all  of 
which  have  been  superseded  by  railways. 

1827.  Two  years  after  the  uniting  of  the  lakes  with  the 
Atlantic,  was  made  the  first  railway  in  the  Union  ; it  was 
in  Massachusetts,  and  was  designed  to  transport  granite 
from  Quincy  to  the  seashore.  Five  years  later,2  our  first 
locomotive  began  running  on  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk 
1832.  Railroad.  The  building  of  such  roads  proceeded  very 
rapidly,  and  in  1835  there  were  in  the  United  States  1,098 
miles  of  railways ; but  in  passing  over  fifty-four  years, 
we  find  that  in  1889  they  had  increased  to  163,362.  Of 
the  rails  used  on  these  roads  about  seventy-five  per  cent 
are.  at  this  writing,  made  of  steel,  which  is  fast  super- 
seding those  made  of  iron, — the  introduction  of  an  Ameri- 
1 Nat.  Resources  of  the  U.  S.  4 Hist.,  p.  700. 


COMPARISON  OF  RATES. 


1143 


can-improved  Bessemer  process  having  rendered  steel- 
making botli  easy  and  cheap. 

Other  items  in  this  connection  are  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  the  reader.  On  the  through  lines  of  railways 
from  the  Atlantic  slope  across  the  lleghanies,  the  aver- 
age of  the  charge  for  freight  in  1865  was  2.9  cents  per 
ton  per  mile;  in  1889  it  was  O.609  cents.  On  the  West- 
ern and  Southwestern  roads  the  average  charge  for  the 
same  in  1865  was  3.642  cetits  ; in  1889  it  was  0.934  cents. 
The  combined  average  rate  of  the  same  on  these  two  di- 
visions of  roads  in  1865  was  3.271  cents,  while  the  aver- 
age rate  of  the  same  in  1889  was  0.771  cents.  The  aver- 
age rate  per  mile  for  passengers  on  these  roads  in  1889 
was  2.246  cents.  There  was  in  the  United  States  in  1889 
for  every  19.34  square  miles  of  surface  one  mile  of  rail- 
road ; and  one  mile  of  the  same  to  every  418  of  the  in- 
habitants. The  gross  value  of  these  railways  in  1889 
was  $20,95 7, 668, 032. 1 What  will  all  these  items  be  in 
1989  ? 

We  of  1891,  in  our  abundance  of  comforts  and  home 
facilities  for  supplying  our  wants,  have  only  a very  im- 
perfect conception  of  the  difficulties,  financial  and  other- 
wise, that  obtruded  themselves  upon  our  fathers,  when 
they  were  entering  upon  the  first  century  of  our  national 
existence.  The  people,  as  individuals,  were  poor  indeed, 
and  so  was  the  new  government  itself.  The  separate 
States  and  the  Continental  Congress  were  both  involved 
in  debts  contracted  in  the  war  for  independence.  These 
debts  of  the  States,  as  a matter  of  national  policy,  were 
assumed  by  the  general  government,  but  that  was  a 
transference  made  for  convenience  only,  since  the  debts 
thus  consolidated  still  remained  and  had  to  be  paid. 

The  people,  in  a comparatively  crude  way,  had  made 
for  themselves  some  domestic  articles  of  prime  necessity; 
when  colonists  they  had  been  for  the  most  part  depen- 
1 Poor’s  R.R.  Manual. 


CHAP. 

LXX111. 


1144 


HISTORY  OF  THE  A~MF.Rrr.AX  PEOPLE. 


chap,  dent  for  these  upon  the  motherland,  while  during  the 
eight  years  of  aetnal  war  for  independence,  most  of  their 
able-bodied  men  being  in  the  army,  those  at  home  manu- 
factured articles  that  pertained  to  carrying  on  the  war. 
rather  than  those  for  domestic  nse  in  times  of  peace. 
Their  trade  among  themselves  (and  they  had  none  out- 
side worth  mentioning)  tin  ally  degenerated  into  mere 
barter,  because  during  the  six  years  immediately  after 
the  conclusion  of  peace,  when  their  sea-ports  were  thrown 
open  for  commerce,  and  before  the  inauguration  of 
Washington.  England,  under  her  system  of  “perfectly 
free-trade,  swept  from  the  country  every  dollar  and  everv 
piece  of  gold." 1 

In  addition  to  this  evil,  rivalry  between  the  States 
bordering  on  the  ocean  often  led  them  to  impose,  each 
for  itself,  different  rates  of  duties  on  the  same  class  of 
merchandise,  when  brought  into  their  respective  ports, 
the  object  of  each  one  being  to  secure  the  foreign  trade 
as  much  as  possible. 

The  whole  people  had  also — in  contrast  with  the 
present  time — to  enter  upon  a sort  of  apprenticeship,  in 
order  to  learn  how  to  make  for  themselves  the  best  ar- 
ticles for  domestic  use.  England  had  hitherto  supplied 
these,  and  at  her  own  prices.  The  contrast  between  the 
amount  of  manufacturing  in  that  day  and  what  it  is  at 
present  is  amazing. 

The  debt  of  the  United  States  at  the  commencement 
of  the  first  century  - was.  in  proportion  to  each  one  of  the 
population,  larger,  and  in  addition  was  far  more  burden- 
some for  the  people  to  pay  than  their  debt  on  entering  upon 
their  second  century,  when  their  facilities  for  paying  it  are 
so  much  superior.  The  national  debt  in  1 791  was  6 75.463,- 
476;  the  similar  one  on  December  31.  1890,  was  $873.- 
435.939.50,  less  the  cash  in  the  U.  S.  Treasury.  In  1791 

1 Bolles*  Financial  Hist,  of  the  U.  S..  p.  437. 

4 Hist.,  p.  575. 


THE  CIVILIZING  INFLUENCE. 


1145 


the  debt  was  about  nineteen  dollars  per  each  man,  woman  chap. 

1 t V'Y'ITT 

and  child  of  the  population,  In  1890,  estimating  the_J 

number  of  inhabitants  to  be  sixty-three  millions,  the 
national  debt  was,  for  each  one  of  the  population,  about 
fourteen  dollars. 

Thus  far  the  American  people  have  merited  the  honor 
of  being  characterized  as  “ the  only  debt-paying  nation.” 

We  cannot  go  into  details;  let  a mere  glance  at  their 
varied  resources  accounting  for  this,  suffice.  Notice  the 
vast  mineral  wealth  of  all  kinds  discovered  during  the 
lirst  century,  within  the  Union  ; the  abundant  facilities 
for  internal  and  foreign  trade ; the  agricultural  and 
pastural  resources ; the  numberless  inventions  that  pro- 
mote mechanical  industries  : all  these,  in  their  respective 
capacities,  produce  wealth,  and  thus  indirectly  afford 
funds  for  paying  the  national  debt. 

There  are,  however,  other  considerations  worthy  of 
note  in  a nation’s  life  than  those  of  mere  material  progress. 

The  contrast  in  the  facilities  for  extending  the  truths  of 
Christianity  and  their  civilizing  influence  throughout  the 
land,  and  for  promoting  education  among  the  people  of 
all  classes,  is  fully  as  striking  as  any  other  feature  of  this 
comparison.  We  have  seen  that  immediately  after  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution,  the  several  denominations 
of  Christians  took  measures  to  frame  their  systems  of 
Church  government  in  such  manner  as  to  be  consistent 
with  that  of  the  Nation  1 The  remarkable  moral  and 
educational  results  produced  during  the  first  century,, 
though  in  the  face  of  numerous  difficulties,  have  amply 
vindicated  this.  Within  that  hundred  years,  especially 
in  the  latter  half,  all  these  denominations  have  manifested 
unusual  zeal  in  preaching  the  gospel  in  destitute  por 
tions  of  the  Union,  and  in  endeavoring  to  raise  the  whole 
people  by  means  of  education  to  a higher  plane  of  gen- 
eral intelligence,  thus  preparing  them  to  enter  upon  their 
1 Hist.,  pp.  567-570. 


1146 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXXIH. 


second  century  almost  infinitely  better  equipped  than  were 
tbeir  fathers  for  a continual  progress  in  all  that  is  great 
and  noble. 

The  leading  minds  in  these  denominations  founded 
benevolent  associations  to  aid  in  the  cause,  such  as  Bible, 
Tract,  Sunday  School,  Home  Missionary,  and  other 
societies.1  Meanwhile  the  private  members  of  the 
churches  nobly  furnished  the  necessary  financial  means ; 
nor  were  they  lacking  in  individual  efforts  in  their  re- 
spective spheres  of  influence.  This  spirit  also  influenced 
wealthy  men  to  recognize  their  own  responsibility,  and 
in  consequence,  within  the  period  mentioned,  they  have 
furnished  millions  on  millions  for  purposes  of  education. 
The  chm’ch  members  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  cen- 
tury,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  people,  were  poor  in  worldly 
affairs ; at  the  beginning  of  the  second,  tliev  are  com- 
paratively  rich,  and  in  addition  they  have,  prepared  to 
their  hand,  these  various  benevolent  associations  and 
societies,  which  the  wisdom  of  the  first  century  has  de- 
vised, and  which  appliances  can  be  now  utilized  to  the 
best  advantage. 

There  is  still  another  contrast.  The  commencement 
of  the  first  century  saw  but  little  harmony  or  sympathy 
between  the  various  religious  denominations,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  antagonisms,  especially  between  the  two  that 
were  in  union  with  the  State2  and  those  others  that  were 
not,  owing  to  the  harsh  treatment  the  latter  had  so  long 
endured  from  the  former.  The  remembrance  of  these 
wrongs  passed  over  from  colonial  times,  and  it  took  at 
least  one  generation  for  that  malign  influence  to  thor- 
ouglily  pass  away,  which,  during  the  first  third  of  the 
century,  very  much  trammeled  the  legitimate  works  of 
the  churches. 

1 Hist.,  pp.  636,  656. 

* The  Congregational  in  New  England  and  the  Episcopal  in  some 
of  the  Middle  and  the  Southern  Colonies.  Hist.,  p.  567. 


RELIGIOUS  DISCUSSIONS. 


114:7 


The  above  period  was  succeeded  by  another,  lasting  chap. 
nearly  forty  years,  characterized  by  an  unusual  mental  ac-  LXXltI 
tivity  in  respect  to  theological  opinions,  which  were  dis- 
cussed extensively  throughout  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
States.  These  discussions  took  a wide  range  amid  the 
respective  doctrines  of  the  churches,  such  as  the  scriptural 
authority  for  certain  forms  in  rites  and  ceremonies, 
Church  policy,  the  mode  of  ordaining  the  ministry,  Bib- 
lical interpretation,  and,  in  general,  other  leading  doc- 
trines of  the  various  denominations.  The  religious  news- 
papers and  periodicals  engaged  in  this  work,  and  even  a 
portion  of  the  secular  press,  opened  their  columns  to  the 
disputants  and  treated  the  matter  editorially. 

These  contests  were  mainly  on  points  of  belief  that 
in  themselves  were  non-essential,  while  at  the  same  time 
there  prevailed  among  these  evangelical  disputants  a re- 
markable unanimity  in  accepting  the  essential  truths  of 
the  gospeL  The  latter  phase  of  the  subject  induced  a 
sentiment  of  charity  that  continually  grew  in  strength, 
until  all  parties  tacitly  acquiesced  in  each  denomination 
in  its  own  way  preaching  the  word  and  administering 
the  rites  of  the  Church,  and  thus  promoting  the  cause  so 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  all.  In  consequence  of  these  mutual 
concessions,  there  came  gradually  into  existence,  toward 
the  end  of  the  second  period  mentioned,  an  era  of  good 
feeling  among  the  churches,  which  prevails,  more  than 
ever  before,  in  the  entire  Christian  community.  This 
was  one  of  the  most  important  legacies  that  the  churches 
of  the  first  century  left  to  those  of  the  second.  There 
was,  however,  one  controversy — the  anti-slavery  agita- 
tion— that  continued  unchanged  among  the  churches  in 
its  earnestness  to  the  very  last,  even  until  the  war  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union  incidentally  blotted  out  its 
exciting  career  forever. 

At  present,  however,  we  see  the  churches  of  the  United 
States  entering  upon  their  second  century,  never  in  their 


1148 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEoPLK. 


chap,  history  so  free  from  discordant  conflicts,  nor  so  abundant 
T. XXLLI.  weaith,  in  zeal  and  in  the  facilities  for  concentrated 
effort  in  their  appropriate  work,  which  in  its  greatness 
has  never  before  been  paralleled  in  the  Union. 

In  closing  this  chapter,  it  is  proper  to  notice  the 
evidence  of  the  deep  underhung  reverence  that  has 
always  characterized  the  American  people — especially 
those  who  are  descendants  of  the  original  colonists — for 
the  truths  of  Christianity.  This  may  account  for  the 
fact  that  no  special  movement  in  opposition  to  the  lat- 
ter s essential  and  leading  doctrines  has  ever  originated 
in  the  United  States. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Nation’s  century,  there  pre- 
vailed, to  a very  limited  extent,  a form  of  infidelity 
derived  from  the  French  revolutionists.  Its  views  or 
arguments  were  presented,  however,  in  a tone  peculiarly 
low  and  vulgar,  so  that  what  influence  it  had  among  the 
people  at  large,  dwindled  away  in  less  than  a generation. 

The  modes  of  criticism  tending  to  invalidate  the 
authority  of  the  Bible  as  the  inspired  Word  of  God, 
were  introduced  from  Germany.  In  the  same  manner, 
the  theories  that  would  ignore  God  in  His  own  grand 
law  of  evolution,  or  the  gradual  development  or  improve 
ment  in  the  order  of  nature,  whether  animal  or  vege- 
table, and  likewise,  the  theory  that  “ neither  denies  nor 
affirms  God,  but  puts  Him  on  one  side,”  known  as  agnos- 
ticism, are  both  exotics — they  having  been  transplanted 
hither  from  the  British  Isles.  In  the  same  connection, 
it  mav  be  said  concerning  the  writing  of  books  of  a 
decided  immoral  tendency,  that  comparatively  very  few, 
as  far  as  we  know,  are  the  direct  product  of  American 
authors. 


COMMERCE — AGRICULTURE. 


1149 


On  the  pages  following  have  been  grouped  state- 
ments concerning  the  progress  made  by  the  American 
People  during  their  first  century  in  various  elements  of 
civilization. 


PROGRESS  OF  A CENTURY. 

This  Government,  founded  on  the  recognition  of  the 
civil  and  religious  rights  of  man,  may  be  regarded  as  an 
experiment  in  process  of  trial,  but  with  the  highest  hopes 
of  success.  It  is  natural  that  under  such  a Government 
the  people  should  make  progress  in  literature,  in  science, 
and  in  those  mechanical  arts  and  inventions  that  promote 
the  comfort  and  advancement  of  mankind. 

Let  us  take  a rapid  glance  at  the  progress  made  by 
this  youthful  nation  in  the  short  life  of  one  hundred 
years.  Since  the  Declaration  of  Independence  the  num- 
ber of  inhabitants,  then  estimated  at  three  millions,  has 
increased  more  than  sixteen-fold ; and  since  the  first  cen- 
sus (1790)  the  number  has  increased  from  3,929,214  to 
62,480,540 — sixteen-fold.  In  the  same  period  foreign 
commerce  has  increased  m value  from  twenty  to  fifteen 
hundred  million  dollars,  while  the  internal  trade  has 
reached  twenty-five  thousand  millions.  In  connection 
with  this  has  been  a steady  increase  in  the  facilities  of 
communication  and  transport,  first  by  means  of  steam- 
boats, which  now  abound  upon  our  rivers  and  great  lakes ; 
by  means  of  canals  connecting  the  lakes  and  the  great 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  with  the  Atlantic,  and  railroads 
extending  to  all  parts  of  the  land,  and  which  have  in- 
creased to  an  aggregate  length  of  163,362  miles,  in 
operation  or  in  process  of  construction,  at  an  expense 
of  nearly  twenty-one  thousand  million  dollars. 

A steady  progress  has  been  made  in  agriculture,  in 
which  a greater  number  are  engaged  than  in  any  other 
employment,  as  farmers  in  the  Northern  and  planters  in 
the  Southern  States.  As  an  agricultural  product,  Indian 


CHAP. 

Lxxin, 


1890 


1790 

to 

1890- 


1809. 

1827. 

1889. 


1150 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXXlil. 


1880. 


1881. 


1819. 


1854. 


corn  stands  first  in  value,  eight  hundred  and  four  million 
dollars ; wheat,  five  hundred  and  seventy-four ; hay,  four 
hundred  and  thirty,  and  cotton  about  two  hundred  and 
seventy  millions,  and  so  on  through  the  list  of  crops ; 
while  the  cattle  numbered  twenty-eight  million,  and  the 
swine  fifty-five.  The  products  of  the  cotton  and  woollen 
manufacturers  amounted  respectively  to  one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  million  dol- 
lars. 

The  inventive  genius  of  the  people  has  been  active  in 
securing  the  powers  of  nature  in  adding  to  the  comforts  of 
human  life.  In  implements  for  cultivating  the  soil  there 
have  been  innumerable  improvements,  from  the  simple 
hoe  to  the  steam  plough ; and  from  the  primitive  sickle 
and  scythe  to  the  reaping  and  mowing  machine.  As 
striking  have  been  the  improvements  in  the  steam  engine ; 
in  ship-building,  from  the  swift  sailing  clipper  to  the 
sharp-prowed  ocean  steamer — copied  now  by  England's 
steam  marine;  and  in  printing-presses,  by  means  of  one 
— Hoe?s— ninety  thousand  impressions  can  be  taken  in  an 
hour.  The  sewing  machine,  that  friend  of  woman,  is  a 
purely  American  invention,  and  so  is  that  not  less  useful 
machine,  the  cotton  gin.  Fifteen  thousand  patents  have 
been  taken  out  in  a single  year  at  Washington. 

We  have  seen  the  character  of  the  first  settlers  of  this 
land  ; their  intelligence,  their  zeal  in  founding  institutions 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  The 
time  came  to  welcome  another  immigration.  In  1819 
Congress  first  directed  the  collectors  of  ports  to  take  cog- 
nizance of  the  foreigners  who  arrived  in  the  country,  and 
make  returns  of  the  same  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 
That  immigration,  subject  to  great  fluctuations,  in  one 
year  amounted  to  three  hundred  and  seventy-two  thou- 
sand. Of  these  the  majority  had  no  higher  skill  than  to 
engage  in  the  simplest  forms  of  manual  labor.  They 
aided  immensely  in  the  development  of  the  country ; for 


DESIRABLE  IMMIGRANTS. 


1151 


1881. 


1863, 

Jan. 

1. 


none  but  the  energetic  emigrate  to  better  their  condition,  chap 
and  they  bring  with  them  that  element  of  character  so 
valuable.  Without  their  toil  our  canals  would  never  have 
been  dug,  nor  our  railroads  built,  nor  the  improvements 
in  our  towns  and  cities.  They  have  received  the  recom- 
pense of  their  daily  labor,  yet,  as  a Nation,  we  acknowl- 
edge to  them  our  obligations. 

Since  then,  especially  during  the  three  last  decades, 
the  character  of  immigrants  from  beyond  the  Atlantic  has 
materially  changed.  As  the  manufacturing  industries  of 
the  country  developed  its  resources  the  inducement  for 
skilled  labor  was  greatly  increased,  and  a much  greater 
proportion  of  skilful  mechanics  have  come  among  us  to 
become  valued  citizens,  and  train  their  children  in  our 
common  schools  to  be  Americans.  The  public  lands,  as 
offered  by  the  Homestead  Bill,  have  brought  an  immense 
number  who  have  settled  upon  them  as  industrious,  eco- 
nomical and  thrifty  farmers,  especially  in  the  West  and 
Northwest.  Intelligent  merchants  from  abroad  have 
aided  in  extending  our  commerce,  and  also  an  increasing 
number  of  educated  men  have  found  here  a home  and  a 
held  of  usefulness,  both  as  lawyers  and  physicians,  and  as 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  and  professors  in  our  colleges,  and 
teachers  of  our  youth.  The  whole  number  of  immigrants 
since  1820  now  amounts  to  about  fourteen  millions. 

The  cheap  lands  of  the  great  West  offered  induce- 
ments to  the  enterprising  in  the  older  States  to  migrate, 
and  while  they  leveled  the  forests  or  brought  the  prairies 
under  cultivation,  the  industry  of  the  States  they  had  left 
was  stimulated,  and,  by  means  of  manufactures  and  com- 
merce, they  supplied  the  wants  of  those  who  had  gone 
West,  and  were  themselves  benefited  in  return  by  ex- 
changing the  product  of  their  mills  and  workshops  for 
cheaper  food  brought  from  the  great  valley. 

As  reported  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  it  ap- 
pears that  under  that  beneficent  measure  the  Homestead 


1890. 


152 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap.  Bill,  during  the  twenty-five  years  it  has  been  in  operation, 

* an  area  equal  that  of  New  England,  the  Middle  States  and 

1889.  est  Virginia^  has  been  taken  up  and  occupied  as  farms 
by  one  million  forty-one  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
six  families  or  households,  which  on  an  average  of  five  per- 
1889.  sons  to  each,  aggregates  five  million  two  hundred  and  eight 
thousand, — more  than  the  population  of  the  State  of  New 
York  by  the  census  of  1880.  The  recent  yearly  average 
amount  of  area  settled  under  this  bill  is  about  equal  that  of 
the  States  of  Vermont  and  Rhode  Island  combined,  while 
the  annual  average  increase  of  households  has  been  more 
than  sixty  thousand.  In  addition  nearly  one-third  as  much 
area  has  been  yearly  sold  by  the  National  Government  to 
settlers,  who  prefer  to  purchase  farms  in  certain  locali- 
ties, especially  along  railroads  ; besides  the  amount  sold 
by  railway  corporations  from  lands  granted  them  by  the 
Government  in  aid  of  the  construction  of  such  roads. 
The  combination  of  the  three  systems  speedily  forms 
settlements  sufficiently  populated  to  sustain  churches  and 
schools — so  dear  to  the  American  heart. 

The  youth  of  the  land  have  not  been  forgotten,  pub- 
lic schools  having  their  origin  in  Massachusetts,  have 
become  the  heritage  of  all  the  States.1  At  convenient 
points  Congress  has  set  apart  a liberal  portion  of  the  pub- 
lic lands  for  the  special  support  of  common  schools  in 
the  new  States  and  territories.  The  older  States,  mean- 
while, have  been  making  laudable  exertions  to  increase 
their  school  funds.  The  number  of  pupils  in  academies, 
and  in  the  public  and  private  schools,  is  estimated  at  more 
than  eight  millions;  and  in  colleges,  theological  semina- 
ries, medical  and  law  schools,  the  students  number  about 
eighty  thousand. 

The  general  progress  of  secular  education,  as  well  as 
in  religious  instruction,  prepared  the  way  for  a new  form 
of  usefulness ; the  young  men  of  the  Nation  were  induced 

1 Hist.  133,  320. 


SUFFRAGE  QUALIFICATIONS. 


1153 


as  a class  to  make  greater  exertions  than  heretofore  in 
the  cause  of  morality,  and  to  exert  more  influence  by 
using  their  united  strength.  The  first  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association  in  the  Union  was  organized  in  Bos- 
ton ; the  second  in  Yew  York  City,  and  within  a year  ten 
similar  ones  were  formed  in  other  cities  ; and  now  there 
are  in  the  Union  1,170  Associations  having  a membership 
of  195,456.  These  Associations,  being  an  outgrowth  of 
this  age  of  the  church,  have,  especially  in  the  cities,  ample 
fields  for  work  in  connection  with  church  organizations. 
The  members  labor  in  Sabbath  and  mission  schools ; have 
libraries  and  reading-rooms — resorts  for  young  men  en- 
gaged in  business — have  Bible  classes  for  their  own 
members  and  for  others ; maintain  literary  classes  as  well 
as  rooms  for  innocent  amusements,  and  over  all  throw  a 
Christian  influence.  In  many  of  the  cities  Associations 
of  Christian  Young  Women  have  been  formed  on  the 
same  principle,  to  promote  a similar  work  of  benevolence 
among  young  persons  of  their  own  sex. 

Of  two  impediments  to  a universal  education,  one — 
slavery — has  disappeared ; and  the  other  is  diminishing 
rapidly,  as  the  numerous  immigrants,  especially  from 
Northern  Europe  and  Germany,  are  superior  in  respect 
to  their  education  to  those  of  former  times.  If  no  young 
man , when  becoming  of  age,  was  permitted  to  vote  unless 
he  could  read  and  write , we  should  have  in  less  than  a 
score  of  years  a Nation  in  which  there  would  scarcely  be 
an  illiterate  voter.  In  these  days  of  free  schools,  the 
young  man  who  has  not  sufficient  mental  power  to  learn 
to  read  and  write  should  be  set  aside  on  the  score  of  im- 
becility ; and  if  he  has  the  power  and  not  the  will  much 
more  is  he  derelict  of  duty,  and  unworthy  to  exercise  the 
privilege 

The  same  principles  apply  to  Foreigners , who  have 
ample  time  in  the  jive  years  before  they  can  become  nat- 
uralized, to  thus  qualify  themselves  by  learning  to  read 


CHAP. 

LXXIII. 


1851, 
Dec.  9. 

1852, 


1889. 


1154 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXXIIL 

1890. 


1889 


and  write  ; and  if  they  neglect  to  perforin  that  duty , 
let  them  he  disfranchised  as  well  as  the  native-born 

In  no  respect  has  the  mental  energy  of  the  Nation 
manifested  itself  so  much  as  in  the  encouragement  given 
to  the  public  press.  The  common  schools  taught  the 
youth  to  read  : the  innate  desire  of  acquiring  knowledge 
was  fostered  ; and  the  fascinating  newspaper,  as  it  statedly 
enters  the  domestic  circle,  reflects  the  world  and  records 
the  progress  of  the  age.  By  this  means  the  most  retired 
can  be  brought  into  sympathy  with  the  world,  in  its 
yearnings  after  excellence,  peace,  and  happiness. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  there  were 
but  thirty-five  newspapers,  and  they  of  a very  limited 
circulation  ; now,  of  all  classes,  are  more  than  fifteen 
thousand.  The  population  since  that  time  has  increased 
eighteen-fold,  and  the  newspapers  more  than  four-hun- 
dred-fold. Educated  and  accomplished  minds  discuss 
in  their  columns  the  important  questions  of  the  time,  and 
upon  these  questions  the  Nation  acts  ; thence  they  pass 
into  history.  If  the  issues  of  the  press  are  kept  pure,  the 
blessing  in  all  its  greatness  far  transcends  mortal  ken. 
Public  opinion  has  been  termed  a tyrant ; but  it  is  a tyrant 
that,  if  vicious,  can  be  made  virtuous — can  be  reformed  if 
not  dethroned.  Let  the  virtue  and  the  intelligence  of 
the  Nation  see  to  it  that  it  is  a righteous  tyrant,  and  sub- 
mission to  its  iron  rule  will  become  a blessing. 

In  intimate  connection  with  this  intellectual  progress 
is  the  increase  of  public  libraries,  found  in  so  many  of 
our  cities.  There  are  now  more  than  ten  thousand,  and 
they  contain  about  nine  million  volumes.  These  store- 
houses of  knowledge  are  as  diversified  as  the  wants  of  the 
people.  Among  them  are  found  the  Sunday-school  libra- 
ries, each  with  its  few  hundred  volumes ; the  social  or 
circulating  libraries,  in  almost  every  village  or  large  town, 
and  the  numerous  private  as  well  as  public  libraries,  con- 
taining much  of  the  current  literature  of  the  day.  An 


HOKOllEL*  2s  AMES — ART. 


T155 


important  feature  was  introduced  at  the  formation  of  the  chap. 

1 f t I XXII f 

public  library  in  New  York  City  bearing  the  name  of  its ' 

founder,  John  Jacob  Astor,  and  since  increased  by  his  1890- 
son.  Other  great  cities  have  also  their  tine  public  libra- 
ries— notably  a very  superior  one  in  Boston,  and  the  art 
of  cataloguing  and  making  available  the  treasures  of  such 
collections  has  made  the  position  of  librarian  almost  a 
profession. 

In  the  departments  of  human  knowledge  and  literature 
we  have  names  that  are  held  in  honor  wherever  the  Eng- 
lish language  is  read : in  History,  Prescott,  Bancroft, 
Hildreth,  and  Motley  ; in  Systematic  Theology,  Hr.  Timo- 
thy Dwight,  whose  works  have  had  a great  influence  in 
this  country  and  in  England,  and  Professor  Charles 
Hodge ; in  Mental  Philosophy,  Jonathan  Edwards ; in 
Biblical  Literature,  Edward  Robinson ; in  Poetry,  Bry- 
ant, Longfellow,  and  Whittier;  in  Light.  Literature,  Irv- 
ing, Cooper,  and  Hawthorne ; in  Lexicography,  Noah 
Webster;  in  Mathematics,  Bowditch — many  other  emi- 
nent names  might  be  added. 

In  art  we  have  those  who  have  exhibited  evidence  of 
genius  that  may  yet  give  the  Nation  a name  honored 
among  those  eminent  in  painting  and  sculpture.  Her 
sons  have  not  been  surrounded  by  models  from  great 
masters  to  awaken  in  early  life  the  slumbering,  genius, 
nor  have  they  been  encouraged  by  a traditionary  rever- 
ence among  the  people  for  such  manifestations  of  talent. 

It  has  been  in  the  face  of  these  disadvantages  that  they 
have  reached  their  present  high  position,  not  by  passing 
through  a training  laborious  and  preparatory,  but  almost 
at  a bound. 

We  rejoice  to  see  the  great  body  of  the  people  asso- 
ciating themselves  for  purposes  of  doing  good  or  for 
self-improvement.  There  are  in  the  land  many  religious 
and*  benevolent  associations.  Of  the  latter  class  is  the 
Temperance  movement,  promoted  at  first  greatly  by  the 


1156 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP,  eloquence  of  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher.  and  which  has  had  an 
LXXIU.  jmmerLSe  influence  for  good  upon  the  nation.  The  moral 
1390.  p}iase  0f  the  subject  has  taken  deep  hold  of  the  minds 
and  conscience  of  the  people,  and  in  the  end  the  cause 
must  prevail.  There  is  also  no  more  cheering  sign  of  the 
times  than  that  of  the  people  themselves  becoming  more 
and  more  acquainted  with  their  civil  rights  and  duties,  and 
in  tlieir  demanding  virtue  and  political  integrity  in  those 
who  serve  them  in  a public  capacity,  and.  when  there  is 
a dereliction  of  duty,  their  promptly  appealing  to  the 
ballot-box. 

Governments  had  hitherto  interfered  more  or  less 
with  the  liberty  of  conscience.  They  assumed  that  in 
some  way — though  indefinable — they  were  responsible 
for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  their  subjects.  Free  in- 
quiry and  a knowledge  of  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  and 
the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  shifted  that  respon- 
sibility to  the  individual  himself,  and  in  consequence  it 
became  his  recognized  duty  to  support  schools  of  learning 
and  sustain  religious  institutions.  This  change  in  the 
minds  of  the  people  commenced  in  the  great  awakening 1 
1735.  under  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  its  influence  had  full  ef- 
fect in  the  separation  of  Church  and  State  after  the  Rev- 
olution.2 To  tliis  principle  of  individual  responsibility 
may  be  traced  the  voluntary  support  and  the  existence  of 
the  various  benevolent  operations  of  our  own  dav.  in 
which  all  the  religious  denominations  participate.  These 
in  their  efforts  are  not  limited  to  the  destitute  portions 
of  our  own  country,  but  in  many  foreign  lands  may  be 
found  the  American  missionary,  a devoted  teacher  of 
Christianity  and  its  humanizing  civilization,  supported 
and  encouraged  by  the  enlightened  benevolence  of  his 
own  countrymen.  The  same  principle  produces  fruits  in 
founding  asylums  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  human 
suffering  and  distress,  or  smoothing  the  pathway  of  the 
* Hist.  p.  267.  3 Hist-  p.  560. 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE — THE  ULTIMATE  SUCCESS. 


1157 


unfortunate.  The  men  of  wealth  in  our  day  more  fully 
appreciate  their  responsibility,  and  the  mental  energy  ex- 
ercised in  its  accumulation  has  more  than  in  former  times 
been  consecrated  to  doing  good.  Millions  have  thus  been 
given  by  individuals  to  found  or  aid  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, that  the  youth  may  be  secured  to  virtue  and  intelli- 
gence— a blessed  influence  that  will  increase  in  power 
from  age  to  age. 

We  inherit  the  English  language  and  its  glorious  as- 
sociations— the  language  of  a free  Gospel,  free  speech, 
and  a free  press.  Its  literature,  imbued  with  the  princi- 
ples of  liberty,  civil  and  religious,  and  of  correct  morals, 
belongs  to  us.  We  claim  the  worthies  of  the  Mother- 
country,  whose  writings  have  done  so  much  to  promote 
sound  morality,  with  no  less  gratitude  and  pride  than  we 
do  those  of  our  own  land.  The  commerce  of  the  world 
is  virtually  in  the  hands  of  those  speaking  the  English 
language.  On  the  coasts  of  Asia,  of  Africa,  in  Australia, 
in  the  isles  of  the  Pacific  it  has  taken  foothold — may  it 
be  the  means  of  disseminating  truth  and  carrying  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth  the  blessings  of  Christianity. 

The  ultimate  success  of  this  Government  and  the  sta- 
bility of  its  institutions,  its  progress  in  all  that  can  make 
a nation  honored,  depend  upon  its  adherence  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  truth  and  righteousness.  Let  the  part  we  are  to 
perform  in  the  world  be  not  the  subjugation  of  others  to 
our  sway  by  physical  force,  but  the  noble  destiny  to  sub- 
due by  the  influence  and  the  diffusion  of  a Christianized1 
civilization. 


CHAP. 

LXXIIL 


1890. 


CHAP. 
LXX1V . 


1990. 


CHAPTER  LXXIY. 

HOW  WE  ARE  GOVERNED. 

f 

Political  Training. — Colonial  Governments. —The  Congresses. — Articles  of 
Confederation. — Framing  of  the  Constitution- — The  House. — The  Sen- 
ate.— Passage  of  Bills. — The  President. — The  Cabinet. — Departments: 
Of  State. — Of  the  Treasury. — Of  War. — Of  the  Navy. — Of  the 
Interior. — Of  the  Post-Office. — Of  Justice. — The  Judiciary.  — The 
Courts. — Trial  by  Impeachment. — Election  of  the  President  and  Vice- 
President. — Governments:  Of  the  States. — Of  the  Territories. — Of 
the  District  of  Columbia. 

Having  in  this  History  traced  the  influences,  and 
shown  their  results  in  forming  our  national  character,  it 
is  thought  proper  to  give  a brief  sketch  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  our  government,  and  of  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  applied.  In  the  family  of  nations  ours  is  the 
youngest,1  yet  its  founders  availed  themselves  of  the 
experience  of  the  past,  and  in  many  instances  ventured 
into  new  fields  of  political  action  and  experiment. 

Vfe  have  seen  the  manner  in  which  the  people  began 
to  manage  their  own  concerns  in  town  and  county  meet- 
ings,1 thus  taking  lessons  in  civil  government ; and  this 
instruction,  extending  through  two  or  three  generations 
of  the  colonial  jieriod.  fitted  the  patriot  fathers  to  ad- 
vance beyond  their  time  and  form  a union  of  States 
independent  in  respect  to  their  own  internal  affairs,  yet 
under  one  national  government.  During  all  this  train- 
ing an  underlying  principle  of  popular  representation 
pervaded  even  the  crude  forms  in  these  town  and  county 
meetings,  one  which  has  culminated  in  “ a government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people.” 

1 Hist.  p.  573.  5 Hist.  pp.  331,  236. 


A UNIQUE  REPUBLIC. 


1159 


The  efforts  of  the  colonists  in  protecting  themselves 
from  the  Indians,  and  afterward  from  the  French  and 
Indians  combined,  gave  them  self-reliance,  and  taught 
them  the  elements  of  government.  The  period  inter- 
vening between  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian 
war  and  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution  had  also 
a marked  effect  on  tlieir  political  training;1  while 
the  self-denial  and  struggle  during  the  Revolution 
revealed  a power  in  the  people  themselves  hitherto 
unknown.  At  the  close  of  that  war  so  much  was  true 
liberty  appreciated  by  the  mass  of  the  people  that,  though 
distracted  by  financial  troubles,  the  disorderly  elements 
that  came  to  the  surface2  were  but  a mere  ripple  on  the 
otherwise  smooth  stream  of  their  orderly  conduct.  A 
deep  sense  of  responsibility  pervaded  thinking  minds ; 
this  led  to  forming  a Republic  of  States  unique  in  its  con- 
stitution, its  members  being  independent  and  republican 
in  the  administration  of  their  own  affairs,  and  yet  under 
a united  National  government.  Says  John  Quincy 
Adams  : k*  Our  system  is  an  anomaly  in  the  history  of 
the  world  ; it  is  that  which  distinguishes  us  from  all  other 
nations,  ancient  and  modern. ’’  Thus  when  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  wras  framed  it  met  the  wants 
of  the  people,  who  would  have  been  unable  to  appreciate 
its  merits  had  they  not  been  familiar  with  the  history  of 
the  struggles  which  their  fathers  had  had  in  colonial 
times  with  the  Home  Government,  and  more  especially  in 
their  acquiring  for  themselves  political  ideas  and  making 
them  practical  during  the  twenty  years  then  just  past — 
for  it  was  that  length  of  time  from  the  Treaty  of  Paris 
to  the  conclusion  of  jieace  with  England  at  the  close  of 
the  Revolution. 

Our  American  form  of  government  is  that  of  a repub- 
lican commonwealth  based  on  popular  representation. 
The  source  of  power  is  the  people  themselves,  who  elect 

1 See  Chaps,  xxv.  and  xxvi.  2 Hist.  p.  502. 


CHAP. 

LXXIV. 


1160 


CHAP. 

LXXIV. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 

to  tlie  Legislatures  of  the  States  or  to  Congress  their 
agents  to  make  the  laws.  The  same  voters  that  established 
and  still  snstain  the  United  States  Government  are  the 
authors  and  supporters  of  the  State  governments.  The 
whole  present  system  went  into  effect  after  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  was  adopted  by  the  people, 
and  when  George  'Washington  was  inaugurated  president. 

Colonial  Governments. 

The  governments  formed  in  colonial  times  were  of 
three  classes — the  Charter,  the  Provincial,  and  the  Pro- 
prietary. Of  the  first  class  were  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, and  Pliode  Island.  The  latter  two  had  formed 
for  themselves  governments  whose  provisions  were  after- 
ward secured  to  each  by  a Poyal  Charter ; to  the  sec- 
ond belonged  Xew  Hampshire,  Xew  York,  Virginia,  and 
Georgia,  which  were  Poyal  Provinces  from  the  first 
having  governors  appointed  by  the  king ; to  the  third, 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Delaware,  being  governed 
by  the  Proprietors  to  whom  their  soil  was  granted.  To 
the  latter  class  at  first  belonged  also  Xew  Jersey  and 
the  two  Carolinas,  though  afterward  they  were  changed 
to  the  Poval  or  Provincial. 

Virginia  took  the  lead  in  having  a House  of  Burgesses,1 
but  none  of  these  colonies  in  their  legislation  were  inde- 
pendent of  the  English  Government.  W e have  seen  the 
first  efforts  to  form  a union  of  the  Xew  England  colo- 
nies;3 then  that  of  the  United  Colonies3  was  agreed  upon, 
and  finally  that  of  the  United  States.3  The  first  Con- 
gress,3 composed  of  delegates  from  nine  of  the  colonies 
(all  of  Xew  England  except  Xew  Hampshire,  the  four 
Middle  ones,  and  South  Carolina),  was  held  in  Xew  York 
in  consequence  of  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  which 
act  was  speedily  repealed,  to  be  followed  by  equally 
1 Hist.  p.  87,  88.  3 Hist.  pp.  122.  388,  412.  3 Hist.  p.  335. 


ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


1161 


objectionable  modes  of  taxation  by  the  Home  Govern- 
ment. These  latter  led  to  the  First  Continental  Con- 
gress,1 held  in  Philadelphia  nine  years  later.  This  was 
succeeded  by  the  Second  Continental  Congress1  the  fol- 
lowing year.  These  Congresses  were  composed  of  dele- 
gates whose  authority  as  such  was  derived  directly  from 
the  people.  They  adopted  the  rule  that  in  voting  upon 
measures  “ each  colony  should  have  one  vote.”  That 
rule  remained  in  force  till  the  adoption  of  the  present 
Constitution. 

The  Second  Continental  Congress  was  never  dissolved, 
though  the  members  were  not  always  the  same,  but  con- 
tinued in  session  for  fourteen  years  till  the  adoption  of 
the  United  States  Constitution ; the  style  was  the 
“ United  Colonies,”  to  be  superseded  by  that  of  the 
“ United  States  of  Ameiica”  on  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence. The  latter  was  the  act  of  the  people  through 
their  Representatives  in  the  Congress ; not  of  the  States 
as  such,  for  the  States  were  called  into  existence  by  the 
Declaration,  and  their  former  allegiance  as  colonists  was 
then  transferred  from  the  Motherland  to  the  people 
themselves. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  people  who  were  under 
Charters,  and  next  them  those  under  Proprietors,  were 
thrown  more  upon  their  own  resources  in  managing  their 
political  affairs  than  those  who  were  under  Provincial 
Governors  appointed  by  the  Iving,  and  thus  having 
greater  experience  they  became  more  self-reliant ; there 
being  no  impediment  in  the  form  of  arbitrary  class  dis- 
tinctions, the  people  were  mutually  dependent  upon  one 
another  and  all  were  equally  interested. 

Articles  of  Confederation. 

After  the  Declaration  was  made,  the  necessity  for  a 
closer  union  among  the  States  became  apparent  to  the 

1 Hist.  pp.  351,  367. 


CHAP. 

LXX1V. 


1162 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXX1V. 


leading  minds  of  that  period,  and  4‘  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration" were  agreed  upon  by  Congress.  But  these  “Ar- 
ticles" were  not  binding  unless  ratified  by  all  the  States, 
thus  giving  the  power  to  any  one  State  to  neutralize 
the  44  Confederacy ;"  and  this  was  the  result  for  nearly  five 
Years,  for  it  was  only  seven  months  before  the  surrender 
of  Cornwallis  that  Maryland  approved  the  “ Articles. 
These  44  Articles”  were  the  product  of  the  States,  as  their 
title  indicated — a 44  Confederation  and  P erpetual  L nion 
between  the  States.”  The  Declaration  of  Independence 
spoke  of  th q people,  and  our  present  Constitution  says  in 
its  enacting  clause,  “ We,  the  people,  do  ordain  and  estab- 
lish this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America. ’ 
It  would  seem  from  this  that  the  statesmen  of  that  day 
had  as  much  as  they  wished  of  a 44  Confederacy  of  States." 
The  Articles  of  Confederation  remained  in  force  till  the 
adoption  of  the  present  Constitution.  They  were  crude 
and  inconsistent.  They  authorized  Congress  to  contract 
debts,  but  gave  it  no  authority  to  raise  money  by  taxa- 
tion to  pay  them ; and  a State  could  at  any  time  with- 
draw from  the  Confederacy.  The  people  took  in  the 
situation  ;*  they  elected  delegates  to  a Convention,  and 
the  latter  framed  a Constitution  which  stands  unrivaled 
for  its  inherent  excellences,  and  its  adaptability  by 
means  of  amendments  to  all  the  phases  of  our  national 
existence. 

The  Convention — Its  Work — The  Constitution. 

This  remarkable  Convention  met  in  Independence 
Hall,  Philadelphia,  on  the  11th  of  May,  1787.3  After 
four  months  of  labor,  in  which  every  principle  involved 
in  the  Constitution  was  thoroughly  discussed,  that  instru- 
ment was  presented  to  the  people  for  their  approval  or 
rejection.  They  approved  it.  and  its  principles  were 

1 See  Hist.  pp.  562.  563.  5 Hist.  pp.  564-566 


POWERS  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT. 


1163 


fully  carried  into  effect,  when  the  Government  of  the  chap. 

United  States  assumed  a definite  form,  and  George  * 

Washington  was  inaugurated  President. 

The  Constitution  arranges  the  powers  of  the  Govern- 
ment in  their  natural  order : the  Legislative,  the  Execu- 
tive,'and  the  Judicial.  These  general  divisions  cover 
the  entire  field  of  the  duties  of  administrative  govern- 
ment, while,  in  a certain  sense,  they  are  independent  of 
each  other. 

By  Article  1.  the  Legislative  powers  are  thus  defined : 

“ All  Legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in 
a Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.” 1 Article  II. 

“ The  Executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a President  of 
the  United  States  of  America.”  Article  III.  “ The 
Judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in 
one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  Con- 
gress may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.” 
Article  IY.  treats  of  various  minor  subjects.  Article 
Y.  “ The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  Houses 
shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  Amendments  to  this 
Constitution,”  which  amendments,  u when  ratified  by  the 
Legislatures  of  three  fourths  of  the  several  States,  shall 
be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  part  of  this  Con- 
stitution.” This  method  being  the  most  convenient  has 
been  adopted  in  making  amendments.  Article  YI. 

“ This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  shall  be  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land.”  Article  YII.  “ The  ratifica- 
tion of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient 
for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the 
States  so  ratifying  the  same.”  The  delegates  to  these 
Conventions  were  elected  by  the  people. 

Here  has  been  given  the  substance  of  the  first  seven 
Articles,  with  their  many  sections  or  subdivisions.  In 

1 See  for  a fuller  statement  the  Constitution  in  the  Appendix. 


1164 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

I1XIV. 


addition,  fifteen  Amendments  have  been  adopted  in  order 
to  meet  contingencies  in  the  Xation’s  history. 

THE  UXITED  STATES  GOYERXMEXT. 

The  Legislative  Branch. 

THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

The  ratio  of  representation1  in  the  Lower  House  is 
determined  by  the  number  of  members  of  which  it  is  to 
consist ; this  number  is  established  by  vote  of  Congress. 
Then  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
after  each  census  to  ascertain  the  number  of  representa- 
tives to  which  each  State  is  entitled  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  its  inhabitants.  Though  a State  may  not 
have,  according  to  this  ratio,  a sufficient  population  to 
entitle  it  to  a representative,  yet  to  such  State  one  is 
assigned.  Each  Territory  has  one  delegate  to  Congress ; 
he  is  authorized  to  discuss  subjects  pertaining  to  his  own 
Territory,  but  he  is  not  entitled  to  vote.  Vacancies  that 
may  occur  in  the  House  of  Representatives  by  death  or 
otherwise  are  filled  by  special  elections,  but  only  for  the 
unexpired  term. 

The  House  elects  a member  to  preside  who  is  known 
as  the  Speaker,  and  of  the  other  subordinate  officers  the 
most  important  is  the  Clerk.  The  latter  is  the  only 
officer  that  holds  over  from  one  Congress  to  another,  and 
it  is  his  duty  to  make  a list  of  the  members  and  preside 
at  the  opening  of  a new  Congress  until  its  Speaker  is 
chosen  ; the  latter  presides  for  two  years,  or  the  term  of 
the  Congress.  According  to  the  rules  of  the  House,  the 
important  duty  of  appointing  the  committees  and  nam- 
ing the  chairman  of  each  devolves  upon  the  Speaker. 
As  it  would  be  impossible  for  every  member  of  Congress 
to  study  carefully  all  the  business  that  comes  before  that 


i Hist.  d.  S43. 


THE  SENATE. 


1165 


body,  classified  committees  are  appointed  whose  duty  it 
is  to  investigate  the  Bills  entrusted  to  their  care,  and 
make  a report  on  the  same  to  the  House.  The  House 
of  Representatives  is  changed  every  two  years  at  the 
option  of  the  people,  for  they  can  send  the  same  member 
from  term  to  term  or  refuse  to  re-elect  him.  Every  Con- 
gress comes  to  an  end  on  the  third  day  of  March  in  the 
odd  years. 


THE  SENATE. 

The  Senate  in  theory  represents  the  States,  each  one 
of  which,  without  reference  to  the  number  of  its  popula- 
tion, has  two  Senators.  The  members  of  the  Senate  are 
indirectly  chosen  by  the  people,  inasmuch  as  they  elect 
the  State  Legislatures  who  choose  the  United  States  Sen- 
ators. When  a vacancy  occurs  while  the  State  Legisla- 
ture is  in  session,  that  body  proceeds  to  fill  the  seat, 
choosing  a Senator  on  the  second  Tuesday  after  notice  of 
the  vacancy  has  been  given  in  proper  form.  Should  it 
occur  when  the  Legislature  is  not  in  session,  the  Gov- 
ernor appoints  a Senator  to  fill  the  place  till  its  next 
meeting. 

Owing  to  the  overlapping  of  terms1  (one  third  of  the 
Senators  being  chosen  every  second  year)  the  Senate  is 
virtually  a permanent  body,  as  it  can,  from  its  constitu- 
tion, always  have  a majority  of  members  present.  Heitlier 
can  a Congressman  or  a Senator  be  removed  from  his 
office  unless  for  cause  till  his  term  expires.  Each  House 
can  discipline,  punish,  or,  by  a two  third  vote,  expel  its 
own  members.  There  is  no  statute  on  the  subject,  though 
a member  may  be  expelled  for  conduct  that  is  not  con- 
sistent with  the  trust  and  duty  of  a member,  the  House 
or  Senate  being  the  judge.  The  Senate  elects  its  own 
committees  by  ballot.  The  Vice-President  presides,  but 
has  no  vote  unless  there  is  a tie.  If  the  Vice-President 


CHAP. 

LXXIV. 


1 Hist.  p.  843. 


1166 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


chap,  becomes  President  of  tlie  United  States,  the  Senate 
IX XIV.  e]ects  from  its  members  a President  pro  tempore , who  is 
not  restricted  to  a casting  vote ; he  has  a vote  only  as 
Senator.  Congress — both  Houses  — meets  on  the  first 
Monday  in  December  of  each  year.  The  members  are  paid 
from  the  United  States  Treasury : thus  in  that  respect 
they  are  independent  of  their  own  States.  The  compen- 
sation is  five  thousand  dollars  a year  (since  1S74),  and  in 
addition  travelling  expenses. 

PASSAGE  OF  BILLS.  ETC. 

Every  bill  requiring  the  President's  signature,  must 
first  pass  the  House  and  the  Senate  by  a majority  vote, 
and  then  be  sent  officially  to  the  President  for  his  ap- 
proval. Joint  Pesolutions  of  Congress  proposing  amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution,  or  naming  a day  for  adjourn- 
ment do  not  require  the  signature  of  the  President  to 
make  them  effective.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  must 
originate  in  the  House  of  Pepresentatives : perhaps,  be- 
cause its  members  come  more  directly  from  the  people 
themselves : but  the  Senate  may  propose  amendments  or 
concur  as  it  does  in  respect  to  other  bills. 

The  Executive  Branch. 

THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  President,  although  his  chief  duties  are  to  execute 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  as  framed  by  the  Congress, 
yet  has  a power  in  the  legislation  itself : although  it  is  a 
negative  rather  than  a positive  power.  If  he  signs  the 
bills  passed  by  Congress  they  become  laws ; if  he  vetoes 
them — that  is,  refuses  to  sign  them — thev  can  become 
laws  on  being  passed  over  his  veto  by  a two-thirds  vote 
of  both  Houses  of  Congress — the  yeas  and  nays  being 
taken — or,  if  after  being  passed  by  both  Houses  and  sent 
to  the  President,  he  retains  them  ten  days  (Sundays 


THE  CABINET. 


1167 


excepted)  without  either  signature  or  veto,  they  become 
laws,  unless  in  the  meanwhile  Congress  has  adjourned. 
When  a bill  has  been  passed  over  the  President’s  veto, 
in  addition  to  the  official  signatures  of  the  Speaker  and 
the  President  of  the  Senate,  certificates  to  that  effect  are 
also  signed  by  the  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  and  appended  to 
the  bill.  When  a bill  has  been  detained  beyond  the 
specified  time  by  the  President  a note  is  appended  to  it 
by  the  Department  of  State  certifying  to  that  fact. 

THE  CABINET HEADS  OF  DEPARTMENTS. 

The  President  has  the  right  to  choose  his  “ constitu- 
tional advisers,”  or  the  “ Heads  of  Departments”  in  the 
sense  of  the  Constitution;  he  nominates  them  to  the 
Senate,  which  confirms  or  rejects  the  nomination.  These 
constitute  his  Cabinet.  At  first  there  were  only  three 
departments,  now  there  are  seven  ; the  growth  of  the 
country  demanding  the  increase.  They  are  as  follows : 
the  Departments  of  State,  of  the  Treasury,  of  War,  of 
the  Havy,  of  the  Interior,  of  the  Post-office,  and  of  Jus- 
tice. The  presiding  officers  of  the  first  five  are  termed 
Secretaries,  the  two  latter  Postmaster-General  and  Attor- 
ney-General. The  salary  of  the  President  is  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  a year;  that  of  the  Vice-President  and  each 
member  of  the  Cabinet  is  eight  thousand  dollars. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE. 

The  Department  of  State  is  deemed  the  most  import- 
ant, as  on  its  Secretary,  under  the  direction  of  the 
President,  devolves  the  management  of  our  foreign  rela- 
tions, the  negotiation  of  treaties,  and  intercourse  with 
other  governments.  To  him  is  entrusted  the  seal  of  the 
United  States,  which  he  affixes  to  the  documents  signed 
by  the  President,  such  as  commissions,  proclamations, 
etc.  The  credentials  of  every  ambassador,  charge 


CHAP. 

LXX1V. 


1168 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXXIV. 


d’affaires,  consul,  etc.,  to  foreign  courts  all  come  within 
the  supervision  of  this  department. 

THE  TREASURY. 

The  Treasury  Department  has  control  of  the  financial 
affairs  of  the  country ; the  collection  of  the  revenue,  th*1 
internal  as  well  as  that  derived  from  imposts  on  imported 
merchandise  ; the  issue  of  warrants  for  the  disbursement 
of  the  moneys  appropriated  by  Congress.  The  import- 
ance of  this  department  is  very  great,  especially  since  the 
national  debt  has  been  so  much  increased.  This  is 
manifested  in  the  immense  amounts  disbursed,  and  the 
establishment  of  a system  of  National  Banks  and  the 
supervision  of  the  currency  of  the  country. 

There  are  in  connection  with  this  department  sixteen 
minor  officers  or  heads  of  bureaus:  two  Comptrollers,  lirst 
and  second,  six  Auditors,  a Treasurer,  Register,  Commis- 
sioner of  Customs,  Comptroller  of  the  Currency,  Commis- 
sioner of  Internal  Revenue,  Chiefs  of  the  Bureau  of  Sta- 
tistics, the  Mint,  and  Bureau  of  Engraving1  and  Printing 
The  latter  has  charge  of  the  engraving  and  printing  of 
internal  revenue  stamps,  the  notes,  bonds,  and  securities 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  national  bank-notes.  In 
addition  to  these  is  tLe  supervision  of  the  Coast  Survey 
and  the  Light-House  Board.  Congress  alone  has  the 
“sole  and  exclusive  right  to  coin  money,”  and  for  this 
purpose  it  established  a Mint  at  Philadelphia  in  1792. 
Afterward  branch  Mints  were  put  in  operation  at  differ- 
ent places  ; of  these  some  have  been  discontinued.  The 
Mint  was  made  a Bureau  of  the  Treasury  in  1S73,  and 
since  then  Mints  have  been  located  only  at  Philadelphia, 
San  Francisco,  Cal.,  Carson  City,  Nevada,  and  Denver, 
Col.  With  the  exception  of  the  main  one  at  Philadelphia, 
the  coins  issued  from  these  Mints  are  stamped  with  initial 
letters — S.  for  San  Francisco,  C.  C.  for  Carson  City,  etc. 


WAR  AND  NAVY  DEPARTMENTS. 


1169 


CHAP. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT.  LXX1V. 

The  War  Department  has  various  subdivisions,  such  as 
the  offices  of  the  Adjutant,  the  Quartermaster,  Commis- 
sary, Paymaster,  and  Surgeon,  Generals,  and  of  the  Chief 
of  Engineers,  the  office  of  Ordnance  and  the  Signal  office, 
with  the  Bureau  of  Military  Justice.  The  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point  is  also  under  the  supervision  of 
the  War  Department.  This  institution  is  supported  by 
the  United  States  Government,  each  cadet  being  fur- 
nished with  sufficient  means  to  pay  his  entire  expenses 
while  a student.  They  are  admitted  only  between  the 
ages  of  seventeen  and  twenty-two.  Each  Congressional 
District  has  one  cadet,  each  Territory  one,  the  District  of 
Columbia  one,  and  ten  at  large  are  appointed  by  the 
President.  On  graduation  cadets  are  appointed  second 
lieutenants  in  the  various  branches  of  the  army  (the 
Engineer  Corps,  Ordnance  Department,  Artillery,  Cav- 
alry, or  Infantry),  and  are  expected  to  serve  at  least  three 
years  before  resigning  their  commissions. 

N AV  Y DEPARTM  ENT. 

The  Navy  Department  has  seven  divisions  known  as 
Bureaus : that  of  Equipment  and  Recruiting,  of  Naviga- 
tion, of  Ordnance,  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  of  Provi- 
sions and  Clothing,  of  Steam  Engineering,  and  of  Con- 
struction and  Repair.  It  has  also  nine  navy-yards,  where 
vessels  are  built  and  repaired.  The  Naval  Academy 
located  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  bears  the  same  relation 
to  the  navy  that  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point, 

N.  Y.,  does  to  the  army.  The  students  are  called  cadet- 
midshipmen  ; none  are  admitted  under  fourteen  nor  over 
eighteen  years  of  age.  There  may  be  one  from  each 
Congressional  District,  with  ten  at  large  appointed  by  the 
President,  and  one  from  each  Territory.  The  course  of 


1170 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXX1Y. 


study  is  for  six  years ; on  graduating  they  take  rank  as 
midshipmen  and  are  promoted  as  vacancies  occur,  the 
promotion  being  based  on  their  rank  in  class. 

• THE  INTERIOR  DEPARTMENT. 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  has  numerous  duties 
to  perform.  Among  these  the  supervision  of  the  Census, 
of  the  Land  Office  and  of  Mines,  and  the  Accounts  of 
the  Officers  of  the  Courts,  Indian  Affairs,  Pensions,  care 
of  the  Public  Buildings,  and  of  the  Territories,  Educa- 
tion. and  the  Patent  Office. 

Every  land  district  has  a surveyor-general ; of  these 
there  are  from  fifteen  to  twenty.  It  is  their  duty  to 
survey  the  public  lands,  marking  them  out  into  sections 
of  one  mile  square  containing  040  acres,  and  these  again 
into  quarter  sections,  and,  if  required,  into  eighths  and 
sixteenths.  These  measurements  are  based  on  meridian 
lines.  The  township,  another  division,  contains  thirty- 
six  square  miles.  Of  the  latter  the  first  square  mile  and 
the  thirty-sixth  are  appropriated  for  the  support  of 
schools  when  the  Territory  becomes  a State.  The  Office 
of  Education  was  established  by  the  National  Government 
in  1868,  and  placed  under  the  supervision  of  the  Interior 
Department. 

The  “ Agricultural  Bureau”  has  for  its  object  to  ac- 
quire and  disseminate  useful  information  among  the 
people  on  subjects  connected  with  agriculture. 

POST-OFFICE  DEPARTMENT. 

The  Post-Office  Department  has  been  a necessity  since 
the  origin  of  the  Government ; its  utility  has  been  greatly 
enhanced  since  the  system  of  comparative  “ cheap  postage" 
was  introduced.1  The  Postmaster-General  has  three  assist- 
ants, first,  second,  and  third,  and  also  Superintendents  of 

1 Hist.  p.  750. 


JUDICIARY. 


1171 


the  Money-order  Bureau  and  of  Foreign  Mails.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  are  six  “ chief  clerks”  as  overseers  in  the 
various  offices.  This  department  is  nearer  being  self- 
supporting  now  than  at  any  time  in  its  existence. 


DEPARTMENT  OF  JUSTICE. 

The  Department  of  Justice  was  established  in  1870. 
The  Attorney-General  is  its  chief  officer.  It  is  his  duty 
to  prosecute  in  the  Supreme  Court  all  suits  in  which  the 
United  States  is  a party  ; to  give  in  writing  legal  advice 
when  required  by  the  President  or  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments on  questions  relating  to  their  official  acts.  To  this 
department  has  been  assigned  the  Solicitor  of  the  Treas- 
ury and  the  Solicitor  of  Internal  Revenue,  the  Naval 
Solicitor,  and  the  Examiner  of  Claims.  Thus  the  secre- 
taries of  the  other  departments  call  upon  that  of  justice 
for  the  legal  service  they  require. 

The  Judiciary  Branch. 

The  States  of  the  Union  are  divided  into  nine  judicial 
circuits;  to  each  one  of  these  a Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  is  assigned  by  order  of  that 
court,  and  each  one  has  its  own  United  States  Circuit 
Judge.  Thus  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
consists  of  a Chief  Justice  and  eight  Associate  Justices, 
corresponding  to  the  number  of  circuits — the  Chief 
Justice  also  having  one.  The  Supreme  Court — the 
Chief  Justice  presiding — holds  a session  for  a portion  of 
the  year  at  the  Seat  of  Government.  In  addition  the 
Associates  hold  courts  in  their  several  circuits.  The 
Judges  are  appointed  by  the  President  with  the  consent 
of  the  Senate.  That  they  may  be  as  independent  as 
possible  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  they  hold  office 
during  good  behavior.  There  is  also  a Supreme  Court 
for  the  District  of  Columbia  and  a Court  of  Claims.  In 


CHAP. 
LX  XIV. 


1172 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

LXXIY. 


each  Territory,  when  organized,  a Chief  Justice  and  two 
assistants  are  appointed  by  the  President  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Senate.  The  salary  of  the  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States  is  $10,500  a year;  each  associate 
$10,000. 


IMPEACHMENT  OF  U.  S.  OFFICERS. 

Following  the  analogy  of  the  civil  law,  as  no  citizen 
can  be  tried  before  a court  until  he  is  indicted  by  the 
Grand  Jury,  so  no  officer  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment can  be  tried  unless  articles  of  impeachment  are 
presented  to  the  court  (the  Senate)  by  the  House  of 
Representatives.  In  the  latter  a committee  is  appointed 
to  investigate  the  charges  ; they  report  to  the  House, 
which  acts  upon  the  question  and  decides  by  vote ; if  in 
the  affirmative,  articles  of  impeachment  are  prepared  by 
a Select  Committee,  whose  duty  it  is  to  prosecute  the  trial 
before  the  Senate.  The  Vice-President  presides  in  all 
cases  of  impeachment,  except  when  the  President  of  the 
United  States  is  under  trial,  then  the  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States  presides.  This  arrangement  is  for  the 
obvious  reason  that  in  case  the  President  is  removed  the 
Vice-President  would  succeed  to  the  office. 

In  case  of  conviction  the  punishment  is  only  political — 
the  u removal  from  office,"  to  which  can  be  added  u dis- 
qualification to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust, 
or  profit  under  the  United  States.”  If  there  has  been  a 
criminal  violation  of  law  the  individual  thus  found  guilty 
is  liable  to  be  brought  to  trial  in  a civil  court. 

ELECTION  OF  THE  PRESIDENT  AND  VICE-FRESIDENT. 

The  manner  in  which  elections  for  President  and 
Vice-President  are  conducted  is  somewhat  complex.  The 
people  vote  direct  for  Electors,  who  are  to  vote  for  the 
candidates.  These  electoral  votes  are  counted  by  States  ; 
that  is,  each  State  casts  as  many  votes  as  it  has  represen- 


ELECTORS. 


1173 


tatives  in  Congress,  namely,  two  electors  at  large  to 
represent  the  Senators,  and  one  for  each  Congressman 
the  State  may  have. 

Originally  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  thought  it 
inexpedient  to  give  the  people  the  privilege  of  voting 
direct  for  the  highest  officers — the  President  and  Vice- 
President — but  instead  to  vote  for  electors  who  were 
authorized  to  choose  these  officers.  For  aught  that  is  in 
the  Constitution,  the  electors  can  choose  whom  they 
please  without  reference  to  the  will  of  the  people.  But 
the  latter  soon  demanded  that  the  former  should  pledge 
themselves  to  vote  for  the  candidates  whom  the  people 
preferred.  The  electors  were  at  first  authorized  to  vote 
for  two  persons  for  the  office  of  President  and  Vice- 
President  without  designating  one  for  either  office — the 
one  having  the  highest  number  of  votes  was  to  be  Presi- 
dent and  the  one  having  the  next  highest  to  be  Vice- 
President.1  As  to  qualifications  the  Constitution  says : 
“ No  person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the 
United  States  shall  be  appointed  an  elector.” 

The  custom  has  grown  up  for  the  people  of  each  State 
as  practically  represented  by  the  different  political  organ- 
izations or  parties,  to  hold  primary  assemblies  and  choose 
delegates  to  their  own  State  Convention ; the  latter 
appoints — each  for  its  own  political  party — a list  of  the 
electors  for  the  State,  and  chooses  the  delegates  to  a 
National  Convention.  The  various  National  Conventions 
then  nominate  the  rival  candidates  for  the  presidency 
and  the  vice- presidency.  The  different  political  organiza- 
tions or  parties  have  thus  virtually  secured  the  pledges 
of  the  electors  for  the  party  candidates ; and,  although 
the  vote  in  each  State  is  for  the  “ Electoral  ticket,”  that 
is  now  but  an  empty  form  used  to  get  the  candidates  they 
prefer  before  the  people. 

The  electors  are  chosen  by  popular  vote  on  the  Tuesday 


CHAP. 

LXXIV. 


1 Constitution,  Article  II.  and  Amendment  XII. 


1174 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

ixxiv. 


next  after  the  first  Monday  of  November,  in  the  year 
previous  to  the  close  of  the  current  term  of  the  Presi- 
dent. and  these  electors  are  required  by  law  to  meet  at 
the  capitals  of  their  respective  States  and  there  deposit 
their  votes  on  the  second  Monday  of  the  next  J anuary.  Of 
these  votes  they  make  and  sign  three  certificates,  one  of 
which  is  given  to  the  judge  of  the  district  in  which  the 
electors  meet,  one  is  sent  by  an  authorized  messenger  to 
the  President  of  the  Senate  at  Washington,  and  to  the 
same  official  the  third  is  sent  by  mail.  On  the  second 
Wednesday  in  the  following  February  these  votes  are 
counted  in  the  presence  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  con- 
jointly assembled  for  the  purpose.  The  nominee  declared 
elected  President  is  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March 
next  succeeding. 


State  Governments. 

The  State  governments  have  in  the  main  the  charac- 
teristics of  that  of  the  United  States.  They  have  the  three 
primary  divisions:  the  Legislative,  the  Executive,  and 
the  Judicial.  They  may  differ  somewhat  in  detail,  but 
they  are  all  republican  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  In  all  of  them. 
Legislatures  and  Executives  called  Governors  are  elected 
by  the  people ; the  judges  in  some  States  are  elected  and 
in  others  appointed.  In  respect  to  the  Governor  s power 
of  veto,  the  practice  in  the  States  is  not  uniform:  in 
some  it  can  be  overruled  by  a bare  majority  in  each 
House,  in  others  it  does  not  exist,  while  for  the  most  part 
the  States  follow  the  rule  that  obtains  in  Congress.  The 
State  governments  have  to  do  with  their  own  local 
affairs  ; the  United  States  with  those  that  pertain  to  for- 
eign nations  and  to  matters  belonging  to  the  whole 
people  without  regard  to  State  lines,  such  as  the  national 
finances,  import  duties  or  tariffs,  and  internal  improve- 
ments. The  laws  of  the  respective  States  must  not  con- 


TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT. 


1175 


flict  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  which  is 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land ; neither  should  they  come 
in  conflict  with  other  State  laws ; for  illustration,  it  would 
be  better  to  have  uniformity  in  the  States  in  respect  to 
the  descent  of  property,  and  one  class  of  crime  and 
immorality  wrould  receive  a check  if  stringent  laws 
respecting  the  marriage  relation  were  uniform  throughout 
the  Union. 


The  Territories. 

Congress  lias  the  exclusive  right  to  govern  the  Terri- 
tories, as  they  are  the  property  of  the  whole  Nation.  This 
right  is  derived  from  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  The  people  of  the  Territories  have  their  civil 
rights,  but  their  political  rights  are  limited  to  electing 
their  own  Legislature  and  choosing  a delegate  to  represent 
their  interests  in  Congress. 

Whenever  Congress  deems  it  expedient  it  may  organize 
a Territorial  government,  which  is  usually  composed  of  a 
Legislature  consisting  of  a House  of  Representatives  and 
a Council  elected  by  a popular  vote  of  the  inhabitants ; a 
Governor,  who  is  appointed  by  the  President  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Senate ; also  in  the  same  manner  a Chief  Jus- 
tice and  two  Associate  Justices  to  preside  over  the  courts, 
which  consist  of  a Supreme  Court,  District  Courts,  and 
Probate  Courts ; in  addition,  a United  States  Attorney, 
Marshal,  and  Justices  of  the  Peace.  The  members  of  the 
Council  are  elected  for  two  years,  the  members  of  the 
House  for  one.  The  Governor  has  the  veto  power,  sub- 
ject to  the  two-thirds  vote  of  the  Legislature.  The  offl- 
cers  of  the  Territories  are  paid  from  the  United  States 
Treasury. 

When  the  people  wish  to  become  a State,  Congress 
can  pass  an  enabling  act  which  authorizes  them  to  frame 
a Constitution.  This  in  due  form  is  presented  to  Con- 
gress, and  if  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution  of 


CHAP. 
I .XXIV. 


1176 


HISTORY  OP  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 


CHAP. 

IXX1Y- 


the  United  States  the  Territory  is  received  into  the 
Union  as  a State. 

The  District  or  Columbia. 

The  District  of  Columbia  is  governed  by  Congress 
somewhat  differently.  In  1878  an  act  passed  by  that 
body  placed  its  government  under  a Board  of  three  Com- 
missioners; two  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  with 
the  consent  of  the  Senate  for  a term  of  three  years ; for 
the  third  the  President  details  an  officer  from  the  Corps 
of  Engineers.  These  Commissioners  have  the  general 
oversight  of  the  municipal  affairs  of  the  District ; they 
appoint  the  police,  the  firemen,  and  the  trustees  of  the 
schools.  One  half  of  the  municipal  expenses  is  borne  by 
the  United  States  Treasury  and  the  other  half  is  raised 
by  taxation  of  the  property  of  the  District. 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


Abenakis,  245;  war  with,  256 
Abercrombie,  General,  301 
Abolition,  830, 864 
Aborigines,  39-42 

Academy,  West  Point,  629;  officers,  786 
Acadiens,  67;  expatriation,  287-292 
Accounts  Audited,  1120 
Adams,  Charles  Francis,  828,  891,  1052; 
John,  327,  342,  352,  368,  555; 
Vice-President,  571;  President,  591- 
598;  death,  701 

John  Quincy,  659;  President. 
699-704;  death,  826 
Adams,  Samuel,  328,  340,  351 
Ahasistari,  242,  244 
Alabama  claims,  1051-1053 
Alamo,  The,  744 
Alaska  purchased,  1045 
Algerine  pirates,  589 
Algiers,  Dey  of,  685 
Algonquins,  41,  243 
Alien  Act,  596 
Allen,  Ethan,  362,  382,  383 
Allouez,  246 

Amherst,  Lord  Jefferey,  301,  305 
Ampudia,  General,  757,  765,  777 
Anderson,  Robert,  Major,  875,  883,  902, 
1029 

Andre,  Major,  521,  523 
Andros,  Sir  Edmond,  212,  213 
Animals,  domestic,  239 
Annapolis  Convention,  563 
Antietam,  battle,  957-960 
Appalachees,  183 
Archdale,  John,  181 
Arista,  General,  757,  761 
Arkwright,  ir  Richard,  577 
Armed  Neutrality,  477 
Armstrong,  Gen.  John,  295,  465 

Gen.  John,  jr.,  557;  Sec.  of 
War,  642,  651 

Arnold,  Benedict,  362,  382,  386,  433, 447, 
450;  Behmus'  Heights,  478;  treason, 
520-523,  532,  547 
Art,  1107 

Arthur,  Chester  A.,  1093-1098,  1102,  1111 
Ashburton.  Lord,  738,  741 
Assembly,  Legislative,  The  first,  87,  88 
Assistance,  writs  of,  327 
Associations,  non  importation,  326, 340, 
342,  353 

Associations,  Vigilance,  810 
Astor  Library,  1155 
Atlanta  city,  1004;  iron-clad,  989 
Augustine,  St.,  64,  183,  198,  690 
Austin,  Moses,  743 
Averill,  Col.,  942,  1012 
Ayllon,  Vasquez  de,  45 


Bacon,  Nathaniel,  139-141 
Bailey,  Col.,  998 
Bainbridge,  Captain,  601,  640 
Balboa,  Nunez  de,  43 
Ball’s  Bluff  disaster.  904 
Baltimore,  Lord,  133,  135 
Bancroft,  George,  88,  322,  795,  1155 
Bank  of  North  America,  544 

United  States,  576,  686,  707 
Banks,  Gen.  N.  P.,  944,  987,  998 
Barre,  Colonel,  331 
Bart  ram,  323 
Beaumarchais,  456 

Beauregard,  P.  G.  T.,  882,  923,  925,  1009 
Beecher,  Dr.  Lyman,  1156 
Belmont,  battle  of,  908 
Benevolent  operations,  862,  1066 
Bennet,  James  Gordon,  1099 
Bennington,  battle,  475 
Benton,  Thomas  H.,  756,  835 
Berkeley,  Sir  William,  136, 137, 138-142, 
235,  858 

Bible  Society  formed,  656 
Big  Bethel,  893 
Bills  of  credit,  368,  486 
Black  Hawk,  727 
Bladensburg,  battle,  669 
Blaine,  James  G.,  1110, 1124,  1133 
! Blair,  Frank  P.,  889,  1046 
Blair,  Rev.  James,  144 
Blockade,  892 ; raised,  1029 
Blue  Lick,  battle,  554 
Board  of  Trade,  188 
Bonaparte’s  decrees  affecting  Ameri- 
can commerce,  601,  607,  617,  627 
Louis  N.,  1031 
Bonds,  U.  S.,  1074 
Boone,  Daniel,  507,  554 
Booth,  J.  W„  l026-r 

Boston.  109,  129:  Port  Bill,  348;  evacu- 
ated, 399;  Fire,  1057 
Bouquet,  General,  303,  315 
Bowditch,  Mathematician,  1155 
Boylston,  Dr.,  228. 

Braddock,  General,  279-284 
Bradford,  William,  98,  103,  105 
Bradstreet,  Simon,  107 
Colonel,  302 
Brandywine,  battle,  464 
Brant,  Indian  chief,  474 
Bragg.  Captain,  785;  Gen.,  964,  967,  992 r 
dcfcB-t  995 

Breckenridge,  J.  C.,  869,  889,  902,  1017 
Brevard,  Ephraim,  366 
Brewster,  William,  96,  97 
Brock,  General,  631 
Brown,  General  Jacob,  661,  663 
John,  852 


117S 


IXDEX. 


Bryant.  William  Cullen,  1155 
Buchanan.  James,  731.  77*4.  512:  Presi- 
dent. 850,  874 
Buckner.  Gen..  902.  916 
Buell.  Gen..  910.  925,  963,  964 
Buena  Vista,  battle.  . .4  7S5 
Buffalo  burned.  652 
Buforvi.  X.  B..  Gen..  S0& 

Bull  Bun.  battle.  595-597:  2d  battle. 
954-956 

Bunker  Hill  cattle.  372-377 
Burgoyne.  General.  371.  457 : surren- 
ders. 451 

Burke.  Edmund.  337. 434 
Burnside.  A.  E_.  Gen..  91S:  in  com- 
mand. 961,  ££*4 

Burr.  Aaron.  354.  5S5;  Vice-President. 

595.  603-605 
Burroughs.  George.  226 
Butler.  B.  F..  557.  583,  905,  926.  925. 1006. 
1009, 1110 

Cabinet  Officers.  1167 
Cabot.  John.  47 

Sebastian.  45 
Calex.  Robert.  227 
Caldwell.  Ren.  James.  514 
Calhoun.  John  C . 622:  Vice-President. 
698,  711.  716.  715  722  721  S ec.  of 
State.  745.  73*.  532  : death.  535 
Calvin.  John.  322 
Camden,  tattle.  518 
Canada,  invasion  of.  634.  662 
Capitol.  The.  burned.  671 
Carieion.  Sir  Guv.  354.  403.  432.  555 
Canonieus.  103.  Ill,  118 
Carolina.  62.  l.o 
Caroline  affair.  739 
Caron.  Father  le.  240 
Carroll.  John,  bishop.  569 
Cartier.  James.  3.1-52 
Carver.  John.  95,  99 
Cass.  Lewi*.  631.  827 
Catawbas.  156 
Catholic  Church.  569 
Census.  -5 99.  61 9.  854.  1063.  1«?73 
Centennial  exhibition.  1063-1064.  1074 
1333-1135 

Century  of  Progress.  I7r&-1889.  1149 

Cerro  ijorlo.  battle.  8*35 
Chaunbeisburg  burned.  Ml  2 
Champlain.  Samuel.  67.  65 
Chapoltepec  taken.  52 1 
Chancellor  s Battle.  973.  973 
Characteristics  of  the  Colonists. 3 1 7 -324 
Charities.  561 

Charters,  colonial.  75.  S3.  123.  167.  176. 
191.  232 

Charleston.  ITS.  154:  taken.  513.  1029 
Chase.  Salmon  P..  S5I.  1«9B2 
Chattanooga.  991  996 
Chauncey.  Captain.  634 
Cht-rokees.  156:  war  with.  310,  TOO: 
removal  of.  70S 

Chesapeake,  affair  of.  610:  capture  of. 
645 

Chicago  fire.  1067 
Chickahominy.  9*5 
Chiekamauga.  battle.  993 
Chickasaws.  57.  262 
Chihuahua  taken.  501 
Chinese  pc>licy.  effects.  61-3 
Ctippewa.  tattle.  662 
Choctaws,  192.  261 


Christian  Association.  Y Men.  1152 
Christianized  civilization.  574.  1157 
Church  of  England.  91.  135. 145. 173.  1 53 
Episcopal.  212.  213.  56$ 
and  State,  separation.  569.  lCOi 
Congregational.  56c.  57.' 
Methodist.  565 
Presbyterian.  569 
Churubusco.  cattle.  516 
Cincinnati  tooetv.  559 
Civil  Rights  Bill.  955.  1082.  103c- 
Civil  Service  Reform.  1068,  1072.  1105 
Claims  against  France.  729 
Clarke.  George  Rogers.  505 
Clarke  and  Lewis  s explorations.  754 
Clav.  Gen.  Green.  644 
Clay.  Henry.  622.  625.  660.  696.  725.  534: 
death.  542 

Claybome.  William.  133.  135 
Clayton.  John  M..  725.  829 
Cleveland.  Grover.  1112-1128 
Clinton.  Be  Witt.  TW 

George.  367.  416. 359. 573;  Vice- 
President.  606 

Clinton.  Sir  Henry.  371.  376.  397.  482. 

492.  497.  504.  507.  512.  542.  552.  355 
Clouds,  battle  above.  995 
Cobb.  Howell.  5S0 
Cockburn.  Sir  Alex..  762 
Coddingron.  William.  107.  113 
Coercion-  872.  57A  851 
Coke.  Thomas,  bishop.  5c8 
Cold  Harbor.  battle.  945 
Colignv.  61.  66 

Colleges.  123.  144.  22'.  265.  294.  3 2S.  335 
Colonial  Governments.  HGO 
Colonization  Society.  659 
Columbia  burned.  1025 
Columbus.  Christopher.  34—37 
Common  sense.  410 
Common  schools.  123.  329 
Commerce,  increase  of.  695 
interstate  laws.  1127 
Commissioners.  British.  493 

of  peace.  555.  559 
of  customs.  346 
of  peace.  660 

Company.  London.  78.  132 
Plymouth.  78.  107 
Dutch.  W.  India.  149 
Compromises,  constitutional.  565 
Missouri.  692.  695 
of  tariff.  725.  537 

Concord  and  Lexington,  battle.  358 
Confederate  finances.  972.  993 
Confederation,  articles  of.  1161 
Congress,  old  Continental.  351 
the  second  **  357 

ProvinciaL  Mass..  357 
Stamp  Act.  -335 

Connecticut  coftonj.  113:  emigration 
to.  123.  236 

Conscription.  Confederate.  926.  943: 
debt.  972 

Constim::  >n.  Federal.  565:  amend- 
ments to.  955.  959.  971:  powers  of 
in  the  territories.  1032.  1043.  1047: 
text  of.  1193 

Constitution.  Confederate,  on  slavery. 
879.  10*9 

Constitutions,  colon iaL  58.  99. 123:  cot 
rnast.  of  States.  857-863 
Convention.  Demeeranc.  855.  959 
Disunion.  839 


INDEX. 


1179 


Convention,  Republican,  856 
Conway,  Cabal,  488 
Cook,  Col.  Edw.,  586 
Cooper,  Sir  Ashley,  176 
Cooper,  J.  Fennimore.  1155 
Corinth  evacuated,  931 
Cortez,  46 

Cornwallis.  Lord,  417,  429,  441,  518,  535; 

at  Yorktown,  542,  549 
Cotton  manufacture,  713,  1150 
“ Court,  The,"  236 
Cowpens,  battle,  533 
Craven,  Governor.  187 
Creeks,  186,  188,  193,  653,  700 
Crockett,  Davy,  745 
Crops,  239 
Crown  Point,  292 
Cruisers,  American,  389,  509 
Confederate,  1030 

Cruisers,  French,  593;  and  English, 
607,  617 
Cuba,  840,  842 
Culpepper,  143 
Curtis,  Gen.  S.  R.,  920 
Cushing,  Caleb,  1052 
Cushman,  Robert,  95 

Dahcotahs  or  Sioux,  41,  246 
Dahlgren,  Admiral,  988 
Dallas,  George  M.,  751 
Danbury  burned,  450 
Daniel,  Father,  241,  245 
Darrah,  Mrs.,  470 
Dartmouth  College.  338 
Davenport.  Rev.  John,  120 
Davis,  Capt.  J.  E,.  930 
Davis.  Jefferson,  776.  780;  senator,  835, 
879,  888.  903;  special  message.  911; 
inaugurated.  932,  990,  1004;  flight, 
1023:  capture,  1025,  1031 
Davies,  Rev.  Samuel,  286 
Dayton,  Win.  L.,  891 
Day  of  Holy  Rest,  318 
Deane,  Silas.  456 
Dearborn.  Gen.  Henry,  634,  651 
Debt,  National.  1029.  1098, 1104,  1144 
Decatur,  Stephen.  602,  640,  685 
Declaration  of  Independence,  by  Con- 
gress, 412, 1207 
Independence,  Mech- 
lenburg,  366 
of  rights,  335,  353 
of  war  opposed,  628 
Decrees  affecting  American  com- 
merce, 607,  612,  617 
Delaware,  Lord,  84,  85 
Delawares,  Christian  massacre  of,  553 
Democratic  clubs,  583 
D’Estaing.  Count,  496,  497,  506 
De  Joinville,  Prince,  952 
De  Long,  Lieutenant,  1099 
Depew,  Chauncey  M , 1137 
Deposits,  removal  of,  726 
De  Vries.  150,  152-154 
Deseret,  839 
Detroit,  314,  507 

Dictatorship,  Washington,  440,  468 
Dieskau.  293,  294 
Dinwiddie,  Gov.,  271,  273,  295 
Dissenters,  175,  178,  182,  357 
Disunion  Convention,  833.  839 
Doniphan’s  Expedition,  799 
Donop.  Count,  424,  470 
Dorr,  Thomas  W.,  750 


Doubleday,  Gen.,  884,  979 
Dover  destroyed,  253 
Douglass,  S.  A.,  846,  855,  869 
Drake,  Sir  Francis  73,  75 
Dreuilettes.  Father,  245, 

Drummond,  William,  141,  142,  176 
Duche,  Rev.  Jacob,  352 
Dudley,  Thomas,  107,  108 

Joseph,  211,  214,  218 
Dunbar,  Colonel,  280,  285 
Dunmore,  Lord,  364,  396 
Dupont,  Commodore,  905,  988,  989 
Dustin,  Hannah,  256 
Duties  imposed,  339 
Dwight,  Timothy,  1155 

Early,  General,  980,  1011,  1013,  1021 
Eaton,  Theophilus,  120 
Ecclesiastical  organizations,  567,  570 
Edwards,  Jonathan,  267,  1155,  1156 
Electoral  Commission,  1070,  1126 
Electors,  Presidential,  1172 

counting  votes  for,  1126 
Eliot,  John,  125,  245 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  92 
Ellet's  rams,  930 
Ellsworth,  Colonel,  890 
Emancipation,  decree  of.  965,  970 
Embargo,  under  Jefferson,  612 
Madison,  627 
Washington,  584 

Emigration.  865,  1100;  West,  to  the, 
1101 

Endicott,  John,  107,  116 
English  enterprise,  69;  pluck,  528 
language,  1157 
Enterprise,  American,  577 
Episcopal  church,  409,  567 
Era  in  human  progress,  573 
Erie  Canal,  700 
Erskine  s negotiations,  615 
Etheridge  Emerson,  808 
Eutaw  [springs,  battle,  541 
Evarts.  Wm.  M..  1052,  1072 
Ewell,  Gen.,  977,  9*0,  1024 
Exploring  Expedition.  742 
Arctic,  1098-1100 

Failures,  commercial.  1059 
Fair  Oaks,  battle  of,  945 
Fallacies,  879 

Farragut,  Admiral,  926,  929,  1014 
Farrar,  Canon,  1118 
Far-reaching  views  on  labor,  715 
Federal  Union,  368 
Federalist,  the,  566 
Federalist  and  anti-Federalist,  581 
Fenians,  1032 
Ferguson,  Colonel,  524 
Field,  Cyrus  W..  1032 
Fillmore,  Millard,  836,  850 
Finances,  confederate,  972,  990 
Financial  disorders,  491,  686,  696,  873 
success,  1074.  1083 
Fish,  Hamilton,  1047 
Fitch,  John,  687 
Five  Forks,  battle  of,  1022 
Fletcher,  Benjamin.  171,  219,  331 
Florida,  44, 54;  purchased,  692;  a State, 
750,  877 

Floyd.  J B.,  orders,  875,  901,  916 
Foote,  Admiral  A.  H.,  913,  921;  death, 
930 

Foote’s  resolutions,  debate,  721 


1180 


INDEX 


Forrest.  Gen.  N.  B.,  998 
Fort  Donelson,  915 

Du  Quesne.  276,  304 
Edward,  292 
Frontenac.  271 
Henry.  913 
Hindman  taken,  969 
Necessity,  277 
Niagara.  271 
Pillow  Massacre.  998 
William  Henry.  297 
France,  relations  with,  591-596 
Franklin.  Benjamin.  173.  279.  295.  323. 

337.  367.  422,  456.  555.  565 
Franklin.  Sir  John.  841 
Fraser.  Gen..  459.  480 
Fredericksburg,  battle  of,  961 
Free  Masonry.  702 

Fremont.  John  C.,  791.  793,  802,  803, 

850  QUO  Oil 

French  Pastors'  Address,  990 

Revolution.  582 ; infidelity.  1148 
Freneau,  Philip,  584 
Frolic,  the.  taken.  640 
Frontenac.  253.  254 
Fugitive  slave  law.  837.  871 
Fulton.  Robert,  6->7 

Gage.  General.  281. 341.  349. 356.  372.  377 
Gallatin.  Albert,  586.  043,  659 
Garfield.  J.  A..  1076.  1078^1088 
Garnet.  General.  894 
Garrison.  Wm.  Lloyd.  863 
Gaspe.  revenue  vessel.  344 
Gates.  Horatio.  285:  sketch.  404,  433, 
478:  in  the  South.  517 
Genet's  mission.  583.  540 
Georgia.  190-200.  490:  subdued,  700 
Indian  lands  in.  706 
Germans  in  the  colonies.  170,186,193, 261 
Germantown  battle.  468 
Gerry.  Elbridge.  564.  592 
Gettysburg,  battle.  978-984 
Gilbert.  Sir  Humphrey.  70 
Gilmore.  Q.  A..  General.  988.  1006 
Gist,  Christopher.  270.  275 
Glover,  Colonel.  420.  421 
Goffe.  201,  207 
Gold  discovered.  825 
Gorges.  Sir  Ferdinand.  121 
Gosnold,  Bartholomew.  89 
Gourges.  Dominic  de.  66 
Government  of  United  States,  sketch 
of.  1158-1176 

Colonial,  1160  ; State.  1174  ; 
Territories.  1175 
Graff enried  de.  186 
Grand  Model,  the.  176 
Grant,  OoloneL  308.  312 

U.  S..  General.  902.  908.  914.  923. 
925.  968:  Lieutenant-General.  998. 
1028;  President.  1047,  1050;  Death. 
1117 

Grasse,  Count  de.  542.  546.  549,  552 
Greeley.  Horace.  1065 
Green  Mountain  Boys.  363 
Greene.  Nathaniel.  General.  380.  402. 

4*65.  491 : in  the  South.  526.  535,  538 
Gridley.  Colonel.  362.  372 
Grierson.  Colonel.  988 
Grundy.  Felix.  623 
Guerriere  captured.  639 
Guiteau.  Charles  J..  1080 
Gunboats.  Jefferson's.  601.  608 


' Hale.  Nathan.  423 
Hall.  Capt.  C.  F..  1099 
Halleck.  General,  901,  930,  953,  978, 
1006 

Hamilton.  Alexander,  350, 548,  575,  581 : 
death.  604 

Hamilton.  Andrew,  221 
Hamlin,  Hannibal.  868 
Hampton,  Wade.  1025:  Sr..  Wade,  651 
Hancock,  John.  341.  357.  398,  497 
General.  941,  1008,  1076 
Hand.  Colonel,  417,  441 
Hanson.  Alexander.  630 
Hardee,  Gen.,  1004.  1005 
Hanner.  General.  578 
Harris.  Benjamin.  237 
lsham  G.,  888 

Harrisburg  Convention,  702 
Harrison.  Benjamin  1129.  1132 
inauguration  of.  1132 
William  Henry,  620,  643; 
President.  735 

Harper's  Ferry,  853,  887,  895,  957 
Hartford  Convention.  674 
Harvard  College,  123 
Harvey,  Sir  John,  132,  135 
Haslet.  Colonel.  418,  444 
Hatteras  captured.  905 
Hawkins.  Sir  John.  63 
Hawthorne.  Nathaniel,  1155 
Hayes.  Dr.  L J..  1098 

R.  B.,  1070,  ion,  1126 
Hayne.  Isaac.  540 

Robert  Y.,  721,  723 
Havnes.  John.  115 
Heath.  General.  360,  423.  425 
Heintzelman.  General.  939,  941,  946 
Heister  de.  General,  418 
Henry  VLLI..  90 

Joseph.  Scientist.  1062 
Patrick.  329.  333,  352.  364 
Herkimer.  General.  475 
Hessians,  hired,  390.  459 
Hiawatha.  243 
Higginson.  Minister.  107 
Hildreth  Historian  .1155 
HilL  D.  H..  General.  947.  951.  958,  979 
Hilton  Head  captured.  906 
Hobkirk's  Hill,  battle.  539 
Hodge.  Charles.  Professor.  1155 
Homestead  Bill,  settlers  under.  1152 
Hood,  1O02-1OO4.  1017 
Hooker,  J.,  General.  941.  958,  972,  976, 
995, 1130 

Rev.  Thomas.  115, 117 
Horse-shoe,  battle.  654 
Houston.  Samuel.  746.  747 
Howard.  O.  O..  General.  980.  1003 
Howe.  Admiral,  the.  413.  468.  496,498 
Sir  William.  306.  .371,  400.  413, 
422.  425.  457.  464.  466.  467.  492 
Robert.  General.  500 
Hudson.  Henry.  146-148 
Huguenots  in  the  South,  61-66;  in 
Canada,  67,  179 
Hull.  Isaac.  Captain.  639 

William.  General.  630,  631.  643 
Hunter.  General.  1011.  1012 
Hurons.  241,  243.  246 
Hutchinson,  Anne.  112. 113 

Governor.  343.  346 

DTbberville.  Lemoine.  259.  260 
Illiteracy  compared.  859, 1153 


INDEX. 


1181 


Immigrants,  unskilled,  865;  skilled  and 
educated,  1102,  1103 
Impeachments,  etc..  1172 
Impressment,  British,  608,  627,  632,  741 
Inaugural  Address  of  Cleveland,  1114; 
of  Harrison,  1132 

Incidents,  102,  137,  142, 154, 192, 219,  333, 
378,  421,  451,  560,  639,  654,  936,  941, 
984,  999,  1013,  1049,  1087,  1094 
Indented  servants,  138,  144 
Independence,  question  of,  408,  412 
Indians,  divisions  of,  35;  see  names  of 
tribes 

Indians,  efforts  to  convert,  125, 185, 156, 
210,  706 

civilize,  1061 
Indiana,  State,  686 
Indigo,  326 

Individual  responsibility,  1108 
Influence,  men  of,  215,  570 

of  the  Dutch,  161  [1145-47 

Influences,  religious,  317-320,  409,  1067 
Inner  Life  of  the  Colonists,  126,  235 
Inoculation,  228 
Interior  Department,  1170 
Internal  improvements,  606,  700 
Inventions,  1150 
Iowa  a State,  750 
Irish  Irregulars,  884 
Irving,  Washington,  1155 
Isabella,  Queen,  35,  37 
Island  No.  10,  921 
Jack,  Captain,  280 

Jackson,  Andrew,  647,  654,  677,  691; 
President,  705-730 
C.  F.,  889,  898 

T.  J.  (Stonewall),  938,  944; 
death,  974 

James  I.,  77,  93,  95,  131 
H.,  143,  211,  252 
Jamestown,  79;  burned,  141 
Jasper,  Sergeant,  406 
Java,  the,  taken,  640 
Jay,  John,  353,  555;  Chief  Justice,  575; 
Mission.  587 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  367.  411,  567;  Sec. 
of  State,  575,  581 ; Vice-President, 
590;  President,  599-614;  death,  701 
Jesuits,  67,  78,  241,  246,  256 
Jogues,  Father,  244 
Johnson,  Andrew,  872;  President,  1027; 
amnesty,  1029;  impeached,  1035; 
policy,  1033;  military  authority, 
1040,  1045,  1062 

John,  396.  474 

Colonel  Rich.  M.,  647-  Vice- 
President,  730 
Sir  William.  279,  292,  378 
Reverdy,  1050 

Johnston.  A.  Sidney,  General,  914,  923, 
925 

J.  E.,  General,  895,  986;  su- 
persedes Bragg,  997, 1000-1002;  sur- 
renders, 1025 
Joliet,  Father,  247 
Jones,  John  Paul,  509 
Judiciary  of  U.  S.,  1171 

Kalb,  Baron  de,  455,  463,  515,  519 
Kane,  Dr.  E.  K..  841 
Kansas,  affairs  in,  848,  878 
Kearney,  General,  796,  802,  956 
Kearsarge  and  Alabama,  1030 
Kentucky,  neutrality,  889 
Kieft,  William,  151-156 


Kang’s  Mountain,  battle,  523 
Kittaning  destroyed,  295 
Knowlton,  Colonel,  374,  425 
Knox,  Henry,  391,  399,  437,  559;  Sec.  of 
War,  574 

Knyphausen,  General,  466,  511 
Kosciusko,  Thaddeus,  463,  536 
Ku-Klux  Klan,  1055,  1105,  1125 


Labor,  far-reaching  views  on,  715 
Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  462,  467, 494, 547; 
visit  of,  697 

Lake  Champlain,  action  on,  666 
Erie,  “ 646 

Lander,  General,  938 
Land  holding,  231,  234 
Lane,  James  H.,  General,  776,  822 
Ralph,  72,  73 
La  Salle,  248-251 
Laurens,  Henry,  366,  528,  555 
Lawrence,  James,  Captain,  645 
Lawrence,  Massacre,  997 
Laws,  humane,  230 

Freedmen,  1036-1039 
Lecompton  Convention,  851 
Ledyard,  the  traveler,  40 
Colonel,  547 
Lee,  Arthur,  456 

Charles,  General,  302, 377,  395,  430, 
434;  treason,  492;  death,  496 
Henry,  Gen.,  490,  506,  537,  596,  630 
Richard  Henry,  329,  351,  353,  411 
Robert  E.,  General,  910,  946,  954, 
957,  960,  974,  978-984,  1007,  1010;  sur- 
renders, 1021-1024;  death,  1048 
Leisler,  Jacob,  216-219 
Leon,  Juan  Ponce  de,  44 
Levant  and  Cyane  captured,  684 
Lexington  and  Concord,  battle,  358 
Libraries,  1154 

Lincoln,  Abraham.  868,  870,  878;  in- 
augural, 880, 882:  the  call,  885;  plan 
of  Potomac  campaign,  932;  retains 
McDowell,  938,  940;  emancipation, 
965,  970;  2d  inauguration,  1020; 
death,  1026 

Benjamin,  General,  357,  479, 
500,  503,  506.  511.  545,  613 
L’lnsurgente.  frigate,  captured,  596 
Little  Belt,  affair  of,  619 
Livingston,  Robert  R.,  367,  411,  600, 
687 


William,  331,  351 
Lloyd,  Senator,  626 
Locke,  John,  176 
Logan,  John  A.,  1110 
London  Times , views  of,  641 
Long  Island,  battle,  417-421 
Longfellow,  H.  W.,  1155 
Longstreet,  General,  978,  981,  985 
Lopez,  General,  840 
Loss  on  Union  side,  1028 
Loudon.  Lord.  296,  297 
Louisburg  taken,  264;  again,  301 
Louisiana.  249;  purchased,  600;  trou- 


bles, 1060,  1061 
Dwell,  F.  C.,  713 
yman,  General,  292 
pon,  Marv.  789 
yon,  N.,  889,  899,  900 
yttleton.  Lord,  311 
undy,  Benjamin,  863 
undy’s  Lane,  battle  of,  663 
utherans,  170,  174,  193,  196 


1182 


INDEX 


Madison.  James.  566:  See.  of  State. 
610:  President.  615.  623,  627.  642. 
659.  668.  673.  683.  687 
Macedonian  taken.  640 
Macdonough.  Commodore.  666 
Magruder.  General.  893,  939.  949.  952 
Magazine,  first  American,  174 
Magaw.  Colonel,  428 
Magellan.  43 
Malvern  Hill,  battle.  950 
Manifesto  of  the  British  government, 
658 

Manufactures,  colonial,  restrictions 
on.  182,  202,  326 

domestic.  129.  577.  702, 

827.  971.  1058 
Mansfield.  General,  959 
March  Fourth.  1133.  1134 
Marcy.  William  L..  796.  810.  811 
Marion.  General  Francis.  516,  539 
Marquette.  James.  247.  248 
Marshall.  John.  592.  594.  707 : death,  728 
Colonel  Humphrey.  776 
Maryland.  134.  136 : troubles.  145. 321 
Mason.  George.  342,  565 

Captain  John,  118, 119 
J.  M..  907 

Massachusetts.  106,  122,  202.  264.  659. 

SS  67 

Massasoit.  102.  103.  210 
Matamoras  occupied.  762 
Material  Progress.  861, 10.  o 
Mather.  Cotton.  214.  223-228 
Increase.  222 
May.  Colonel.  760.  781 
Mahew.  Thomas.  126 
Meade.  Geo.  S..  General.  975.  978-984. 

1022.  1032:  death.  1062 
Mechlenburg  declaration.  366 
Megapolensis.  Domine.  156.  244 
Meigs.  Colonel.  451,  644 
Mercenaries  in  the  Union  army.  907 
Merimae  and  Monitor  duel.  933-935 
McClellan.  G.  R.  888.  894.  903.  932.  940. 
954.  957  : removed.  960, 1013:  candi- 
date. 1020:  death-  1119 
McClernand.  General.  913.  969.  985 
McCook.  Colonel.  910.  925.  967 
McCrea.  Jenny.  473 
McCulloch.  Major.  773.  898.  920 
McDowell.  General.  *91.  645 
McDuffie.  Geo,  719,  723 
McHenry.  Fort,  defended.  671 
McPherson.  General.  1003 
Melendez.  Pedro.  64.  65 
Mercer.  General  Hugh.  415.  443 
Fort,  defended.  470 
Mesilla  Valiev  purchased.  844 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  196.  568: 
division.  862 

Mifflin.  Thomas.  365.  414.  561;  Gov..  5S6 
Miantonomoh.  117.  118 
Miles.  Gen..  893 
Mills.  R.  Q . 1122,  1128 
Miller.  Col.  James.  663 
Mill  Spring,  battle  of.  910 
Milroy.  Gen..  913 
Minuits.  Peter.  149.  157 
Mitchell.  O.  M..  General,  926.  963 
Mississippi.  57.  247 
Missions.  Jesuit.  67.  242.  245.  246,  252 
Spanish.  183 

Missionary  Societies  formed.  636 
Missouri  Compromise.  692-695 


Mobile  taken.  260. 1014 
Mobilian  tribes.  41 

Mohawks,  or  Huron-Iroquois.  41.  151, 
153.  243.  253.  378.  458 
Mohegans.  116.  152 
Monongahela.  battle,  281 

first  settlers  on.  585 
Molino  del  Rey.  battle.  818 
Monmouth,  battle.  494 
Monroe.  James.  438.  591.  609:  Sec.  of 
State.  651:  President.  644-698 
Monroe  doctrine.  695 
Monterey  captured.  764 
Montcalm.  297.  C98.  302:  death.  309 
Montgomery.  Richard.  383.  386 
Monts.  Sieur  de.  68 

Moralitv.  laws  enjoining.  88.  126.  169, 
319 

Moravians.  195.  198.  553 
Morgan.  Daniel.  380.  386.  464.  478,  533 
J.  H..  raid.  9SS 
William  702 
Mormons.  837-839 
Morris.  Gouverneur.  584 
Robert.  544 

Morse.  Samuel  F.  B..  1032 
Motley,  Historian.  1155 
Motto  on  Coin.  1032 
Moultne.  Fort.  405 
Muhlenbuig.  Colonel.  448 

Rev.  H.  M..  174 
Murfreesboro,  battle.  967-8 

Narragansetts.  203.  208 
Nashville.  509:  occupied,  917 
Natchez.  261.  262 
National  Bank.  576 

debts  assumed.  576 
: • •. . - 
Banks.  991.  11W 
Flag.  453 
Road.  700 

Naval  efforts.  389.  390 
Navy.  the.  448.  589.  606,  637 

department  of.  390.  574  1169 
Nebraska  bilk  845:  the  State.  1045 
Nelson.  Governor.  548 
Neutrality  professed.  892 
Newark  burned.  652 
Newspapers.  237.  238,  861,  -72.  1103 
Newborn  captured.  919 
New  Amsterdam.  149.  158 
France.  240 
Haven.  120 
Jersev.  162 
Lights.  267.  330 
London  burned.  517 
Madrid  captured.  921 
Netherland.  149. 160 
Orleans.  261 : battle.  679:  captured. 

927-929 
Sweden.  158 
York  City.  146.  148.  732 
York  province.  161 
Nicholson.  Francis.  189,  216 
Nipmucks.  206.  209 
Non-coercion.  872 
Norfolk  burned.  396 
North.  Lord.  343.  345.  486.  555 
Nullification.  721 

causes  of,  718-720 

O'Brien.  Captain.  728.  783 
Oglethorpe.  190-2X1 


INDEX 


1183 


Ohio  Company,  269 
State  of,  600 
Old  Lights,  267 
Old  Ironsides,  638,  640,  684 
Opechancanough,  130,  137 
Orders  in  Council,  611,  625,  632 
Ordinance  of  1787,  566 
Oregon  boundary,  753-756 

emigration  to,  790;  State  of,  791 
Otis,  James,  328,  340 
Outrages  on  colored  soldiers,  927 

Pacific  Railway,  1047 
Packenham,  General,  679,  681 
Palmer,  Sir  Roundel,  1052 
Palo  Alto,  battle,  758 
Parker,  Sir  Peter,  405 
Parliament,  measures  of,  390 
Parris,  Samuel,  224-228 
Patroons,  150 
Patterson,  General,  895 
Pea  Ridge,  battle  of,  320 
Peace  Party,  976 
rumors,  682 

Pemberton,  J.  C.,  General,  965,985-987 
Penn,  William,  165-173,  335 
Pennsylvania,  167;  settlers,  German, 
170;  Presbyterian,  172;  Western,  585 
Pepperell,  William,  264 
Pequods,  war  with,  116-120 
Perry,  Commodore,  845 
O.  H.,  646 

Personal  Liberty  bills.  871 
Petersburg  taken,  1023 
Philadelphia,  168;  taken,  468 
Philip’s,  King,  war,  203,  209 
Phillips,  General.  458,  533 
Phipps,  Sir  William,  225,  255 
Pickett,  General,  982 
Pierce,  Franklin,  814,  844 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  98 
Pilgrims  in  Holland,  94,  96 
Pinckney.  Charles  C.,  591 
Pitcairn,  Major,  359,  377 
Pitt,  William.  300,  336,  354 
Pittsburg,  304,  314 

Pittsburg  Landing,  battle  of,  923-926 
Pizarro.  46 

Platforms  of  parties,  855,856, 1019, 1020, 
1069,  1075,  1109,  1128 
Pleasants,  Col.  Henry,  1013 
Pleasonton,  General,  913,  1015 
Pocahontas,  81,  84,  86 
Pollard,  996,  1021 

Polk,  James  K.,  749;  President,  751, 762, 
768,  818 

Leonidas,  Bishop— Gen.,  908,  923; 
death,  1001 
Pontiac,  313-316 

Pope,  John,  Gen.,  921,929,  953-956 
Porter,  Captain,  655 

D.  D.,  Admiral,  926.  985,  998 
Fitz-.Tohn,  Gen.,  948,  950,  955 
Port  Hudson  taken,  987 
Portland  burned,  389 
Position  of  affairs,  999 
Postage,  cheap,  750 
Post-office  department,  1170 
Powhatan,  80,  81 

Prejudices,  sectional,  392,  415,  1066 
Presbyterians,  163,  172,  175,  181,  185, 
318.  a09.  568.  585 

President  of  United  States,  duties  of, 
1166;  election  of.  1172 


Presidential  Succession.  1125 
President,  frigate,  taken,  684 
Prescott,  Colonel  William,  372,  425 
Prescott,  General,  capture  of,  460 
Historian,  1155 

Press,  the,  123,  139,  211,  232,  235,  857 
liberty  of.  vindicated,  221 
increase, 1154 
Preston,  Captain,  342 
Price,  Sterling,  898,  965,  1015 
Princeton  College,  268 
battle,  443 
Pring,  Martin,  90 
Prisoners  of  war,  446,  558 
Prevost,  Sir  George,  643,  665 
Provost,  Bishop,  573 
Pulaski,  Count,  463,  467,  506 
Puritans,  92,  106,  127,  136,  202 
Putnam,  Israel,  292,  361,  374,  418,  446 

uakers,  124,  164,  170,  181,323 
uebec  Act,  348 

founded,  68,  306,  310,  385 
ueenstown  attacked,  634 
uincy,  Josiah,  342 

Josiah,  jr.,  626 
Quitman,  John,  General,  765 

Raisin  River,  battle,  643 
Rahl,  Colonel,  436,  438 
Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  71 ; death,  75 
Randolph,  Edmund,  565,  575 
John,  614,  624  , 863 
Rates  on  railways.  1143 
Rawdon,  Lord.  539 
Reconstruction  of  States,  1033 
Reed,  Adjutant- General,  436,  440 
Red  River  Expedition,  998 
Reformation,  the.  59,  60 
Representatives,  House  of,  843.  1164 

ratio  of.  843, 1076,  1 102 
Slave  representation 
in,  565,  675,  748,  866,  1042 
Republican  parties,  1st,  582  ; 2d,  850, 
868 

Republics,  South  American,  690 
Repudiation,  734 
Resaca  de  la  Palma,  battle,  760 
Resolutions  of  ’98,  711 
Responsibility,  individual,  1156 
Resumption  of  Specie  Payments,  1074 
Revere,  Paul,  347,  359 
Revival,  great,  267 
Revolt  of  soldiers.  530 
Revolution,  war  of,  355-556 
French,  582 
Reynolds,  General,  979 
Rhode  Island,  113.  123,  124,  202,  235,  750 
Rice,  182 

Richmond,  943;  taken,  1023 
Ringgold,  Major,  759 
Riots  at  Baltimore,  630 
New  York,  989 
Railway,  1073 
Rivington's  Gazette,  394 
Roberval,  Lord  of.  52,  53 
Robertson,  James,  508 
Robinson,  Ewd.,Prof..  1156 
Rev.  John,  93,  96 
Rochambeau,  Count  de,  516,  544 
Rodgers,  Captain,  618 
Rosecrans,  General,  894,  901,  965,  967, 
1015 


1184 


LXDEX 


Ross.  General  Robert.  667.  671 
Russell.  Lord  John.  507;  protest.  1031: 

negligence.  1051 
Rutledge.  Edward.  422 

Sabbath,  the.  169.  235.  319 
Samoset.  102 

Sanitary  Commission.  942.  1039 
Santa  Anna.  743.  746.  768.  772.  . . 4-7S6. 

S07.  312.  322 
Santa  F e taken.  797 
San  Jacinto,  battle.  746 
Saratoga,  the  surrender.  431 
Sassaeus.  US.  119 
Savannah  192.  506;  taken.  1COS 
- - . _ - 
Sehwatka.  Lieut.  Fred..  1099 
Schenectady  burned.  254 
Schofield.  General.  1016 

. . ' 

853.  1101 

Schurler.  Peter.  -S3 

General  Philip.  377.  381.  -3S3. 
404.  452.  460.  472.  473 
Scott.  Lieutenant-General  Winfield. 
635.  661.  706:  Mexican  war.  763.  771. 
ad.  313.  390.  904.  1062 
Sears.  Robert.  365 
Sedgwick.  General.  974.  1008 
Seminoles.  1M:  war  with.  690.  72S 
Sernmes.  Raphael.  966 
Senate,  how  composed.  343. 1165 
Seward.  W.  H..  381.  891.  908.  1026 
Shawnees.  243.  271 
Shay's  rebellion.  562 
Sheridan.  General  Philip.  968. 1009 : his 
ride.  1013 

Sherlock.  Bishop.  329 
Sherman.  Roger.  351 : T.  W..  905 

Wm.  T..  909.  969.  986.  996. 
1000-1005.  l->25.  1027 
Shingis.  274.  23!' 

Shiloh.  l>attle  of.  924 
Sickles.  General  D..  981.  1039 
Sigel.  Franz.  -99.  920.  955.  974 
Signal  Service  Bir  eau.  1056 
Silk  culture.  191. 195.  1059 
Sims.  J.  Clarion.  1"77 
Sioux  or  Dahcotahs.  41.  246 
Slater.  Samuei.  573 
Slave  law.  fugitive.  837 

representation.  565.  t.o.  366 
trade.  :353.  410.  411.  566.  740 
Slaverv  in  the  colonies.  130.  159.  18). 
195.  300.  322.  325 

in  the  territories.  566.  633,  531. 
833.  835.  346 

discussion  on.  830.  835 
Slaves  in  British  army.  558 
the  hopes.  966 
Slidell.  John.  907 
Slocum.  General.  948.  982 
Slaughter.  Colonel  Henry.  217.  218 
Smith.  John.  79-34. 90 
Joseph.  837 

•Jeneral  Kirby.  964.  1026 
Smugglers.  English.  197 
Society  for  propagating  the  Gospel  in 
foreign  parts.  135.  193 
Soldiers,  colored,  987.  991 
Soto.  De.  54-58 
Sons  of  Liberty.  334.  365 
Specie  payments,  bill  for.  1060.  1074 
Squanto.  90.  102 


St.  Clair.  General.  447.  458-460:  defeat 

579 

St.  John  John  P.,  1110 
St.  Leger.  General.  457.  474 
St.  Pierre.  274 

Steele.  General:  Little  Rock  taken.  997 

Specie  Circular.  732 
Speculation.  731.  732.  734 
Stamp  Act.  332.  337 
Manoish.  Miles.  96.  104 
Stanton.  E.  M..  912.  1045:  death.  1062 
Stark.  John.  292. 361.  374.  437 : Benning- 
ton. 476 

State  Impairment.  390.  1167 
State  Rights  influence.  1040 
Stephens.  A.  H..  872.  S79.  932 
Stephenson.  Fort,  defended.  644 
Steuben.  Baron  de.  490.  542 
Stirling.  Lord.  General.  419 
Stockton.  Commodore.  795.  803 
Stoneman.  General  975. 1018 
Stonington  bombarded.  672 
Stony  Point  taken.  505 
Stoughton,  William.  212,  225-228 
Streeter.  A.  J . 1127 
Stringham.  Commodore.  905 
Stuart.  J.  E.  B..  raid.  947.  960,  974; 
death.  1009 

Stuyvesant.  Peter.  156-160 
Sub-Treasury.  733 
Suffrage,  qualification.  1105 
Sullivan.  General  John.  356.  402.  417, 
435.  465.  497.  502 
Sumner.  Charles.  1060,  1065 

General.  946.  961.  959 
Sumter.  General.  516 

Fort.  875.  883:  the  Old  Flag. 

1029 

Susquehanna.  134.  1-39 

Talleyrand.  593.  595 

Tane'v.  Roger  B..  727 

Tariffs.  567.  686.  697.  702.  704.  723.  725. 

827.  971,  1103. 1108.  11*2.  1124,  1132 
Tarleton.  Colonel  512.  533 
Taxes,  parliamentary,  321  331.  340 
national  971 
Tayac.  135 

Tavlor.  Zacharv.  728:  Mexican  war, 
' 753  757  . 760.  766.  779:  President, 

829.  836 

Tea  taxed.  339.  345:  destroyed,  347 
Tecum  sch.  619.  644.  647 
Telegraph,  the.  1032 
Temperance  Movement.  1077, 1155 
Tennent.  Rev.  William.  26 fj 
Territory.  Northwest.  566 
Texas  aimexation.  74C-749 
Thames,  battle.  647 
Thanksgiving  day.  I'M.  128 
Thomas.  General.  380.  399.  403 
Thomas.  Geo.  H..  Gen..  910.  924,  993,1016 
Thomson.  Charles.  351 
Ticonderoga  taken.  363.  459 
Tilden.  Samuel  J..  1070,  1126 
Tippecanoe,  battle.  621 
Tithing-man.  the,  127 
Toleration.  136 
Tompkins.  Daniel  D..  687 
Tories.  343.  558.  562 
Town  meetings.  231 
Trade,  colonial.  144:  restrictions,  ISO, 
202.  211,  325 


INDEX. 


1185 


Transportation,  1142 
Treason  made  odious,  1035 
Treasury  Department,  401,  574, 1168 
Treaties  with  Algiers,  589,  685 
China,  1045 

England,  556;  Jay’s,  588; 
at  Ghent,  682;  at  Washington, 
740,  1050 

France,  493 
Indians,  580,  686 
Japan,  845 
Mexico,  825 
Ottoman  empire,  730 
Spain,  589,  692 
Trent  affair,  907 
Trenton,  battle,  436 
Trist,  N.  P.,  Commissioner,  811,  818,  825 
Truxton,  Capt.,  596 
Tryon,  Governor,  378,  394,  449,  504 
Tuscaroras,  186,  187 
Tyler,  John,  736-750 

Uncas,  118,  157,  203 
Uniform,  American,  381 
United  colonies  of  New  England,  122 
Thirteen,  388 
States,  412 
Union  Flag,  393 

Union,  continuance  of.  1065-1067 
Union  men,  871 
Union  war  losses,  1028 

Valley  Forge,  484 
Van  Buren,  Martin,  731-734 
Vanderbilt,  Cornelius,  906 
Van  Dorn,  Gen.,  920,  965,  969 
Vane,  Harry,  110,  112, 122,  201 
Vaudreuil,  258,  310 
Vera  Cruz  taken,  805 
Verrazzani,  49,  50 
Vespucci,  Amerigo,  38 
Vicksburg  taken,  985-987 
Vigilance  Associations,  874 
Virginia,  72,  77,  130 
Volunteers;  Mexican  war,  762 
Voting,  fraudulent,  1053 
Wadsworth,  Wm. , 213 
Gen.,  1008 

Waite,  Morrison  R..  1052 
Waldron,  Major.  253 
Walker,  Robert  J.,  851 
Walloons,  first  settlers  on  Long  Island, 
149 

Wampanoags,  203,  206 
Wamsutta,  death  of,  204 
Warren,  Dr.  Joseph,  358,  377 
War  Department.  401,  1169 
Wars,  with  England,  628-686 

England  and  Spain,  183, 

197,  198 

Indian.  116-120.  131, 137, 139,  151- 
156,  203-209.  578,  690,  728 
King  William’s,  252 
of  the  Revolution,  355-551 
Tripoli,  601 
King  George’s,  263 
Washington,  Fort,  taken,  428 

George,  youth,  271-273, 
274-286,  304;  commander-in-chief, 


369,  381,  399,  424,  427,  429,  436,  442, 
457,  465,  467,  495,  510,  544,  559; 
Washington,  retirement,  561,  564;  Pres- 
ident, 571-590  ; death,  596  ; monu- 
ment to,  1106-1108 
John,  139 

Colonel  William.  534,  539 
City  pillaged,  670 

Wayne.  Anthony,  448, 467;  Stony  Point, 
505,  543,  580 

Webster,  Daniel,  657,  673.  722;  Sec.  of 
State,  738,  748,  832;  death,  842 
Noah,  1155 

Wesley,  John  and  Charles,  195,  196 
Wetherford,  the  chief,  653,  654 
WTheelock,  Rev.  E.,338 
Whigs,  343 

Whiskey  Insurrection,  585-587 
Whitefield,  George,  196,  264,  268 
White,  William,  bishop,  568 
White  Plains,  battle,  426 
Whitney,  Eli,  700 
Whittier,  J.  G.,  1155 
Wilderness,  battles  of,  1007 
Wilkinson,  James,  General,  434,  649, 
651,  661 

Wilkes,  Chas..  Capt.,  742,  908 
Williamsburg,  battle  of,  941 
William  IH.,  170,  214 
Williams,  College,  636 
Eunice,  257 
Colonel  E..  293,  294 
O.  H.,  535 

Roger,  110,  111,  117,  123,  209 
Wilmot  Proviso,  827 
Wilson,  Henry,  1048 
Wilson's  Creek,  battle  of,  899 
Winchester,  Gen.,  643 
Winder,  General,  667-669 
Winslow,  Edward,  98,  101,  103,  111 
| 114 

Winthrop,  John,  108 

John,  jr.,  202 
Wise,  Rev.  John,  213 
Witchcraft,  Salem,  222-228,  230 
in  Great  Britain,  229 
Witherspoon,  Dr.,  351 
W7olfe,  James,  301,  307-309 
Wool,  John  E..  635,  764,  775,  770, 786,  904 
W’ooster,  General,  383,  450 
WTorth,  William  J.,  764,  767,  771,  807, 
815,  819 

Writs  of  Assistance,  327 
Wyoming,  ruin  of,  498;  revenged,  502 

Yamasees.  186, 188 
Yeamans,  Sir  John,  177,  180 
Yeardley,  George,  87,  132 
York  taken,  650 

Yorktown,  siege  of,  547-549;  2d  siege, 
939:  centennial  celebration  of  siege 
of  1781,  1096 
Young,  Brigham,  839 
Young  Men’s  C.  A.,  1153 
Youthful  Nation,  573 
Yulee’s  letter,  877 

Zenger,  John  Peter,  221 
Zollicoffer,  Gen.,  902,  910 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


In  order  to  aid  the  reader  who  may  wish  to  refer  to  special  sub- 
jects treated  of  in  this  History,  the  following  classified  Table  has 
been  prepared,  with  references  to  the  dates,  as  well  as  to  the  pages 
where  such  subjects  are  noticed : 


DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORA- 
TIONS. 

Spanish. 

Columbus  set  sail  August  3, 1492;  first 
discovery.  October  12.  1492;  main- 
land of  South  America,  149S:  pp. 
33-38. 

Balboa  discovers  the  Pacific  Septem- 
ber 26,  1513;  p.  43. 

Magellan,  first  voyage  round  the 
world,  1539;  p.  48. 

Ponce  de  Leon  discovers  Florida.  March 
27, 1512;  p.  44. 

Vasquez  de  AyUon  attempts  to  con- 
quer Florida,  1528:  pp.  43-46. 

De  Soto  traverses  Florida  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi. 1539-1541;  pp.  54-56. 

English. 

Sebastian  Cabot  reaches  the  mainland 
of  Western  Continent,  June  27.  1497; 
pp.  47-49. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  Arm  idas  and  Bar- 
low , explore  coasts  of  the  Carolinas. 
1584;  pp.  69-76. 

John  Smith  explores  Virginia.  1607; 
New  England.  1614;  pp.  79:  81-82:  90. 

Gosnold  Bartholomew  sails  straight 
across  the  Atlantic  and  reaches  Cape 
Cod,  May  14,  1602:  p.  89. 

Henry  Hudson  in  Hudson's  Bay.  1612: 
p.  148. 

French. 

Cermzzani  discovers  coast  of  North 
Carolina,  1524:  pp.  49.  50. 

1186 


FREN  CH . — CoxnxcED. 

Cartier  explores  St.  Lawrence  River. 
1534-1535:  pp.  50-53. 

Ribaidt.  Huguenots  in  the  South, 
1562;  the  massacre,  1568;  pp.  61-66. 

De  Monts  in  the  North.  Acadie  settled. 
1607;  p.  67. 

Champlain's  explorations.  1608;  p.  68. 

Father  AUouez , 1642-1665:  Marquette, 
1670;  pp.  246,  247. 

La  Salle  floats  down  the  Mississippi, 
1682;  sails  from  France  for  Louisi- 
ana, 1684;  pp.  240-251. 

Dutch. 

Henry  Hudson  explores  Hudson  Riv- 
er, 1609:  pp.  146-147. 

American. 

Captain  Charles  Wilkes.  Antarctic 
Explorations.  1838-1842:  p.  742. 

Clarke  and  Lewis  cross  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  down  Columbia  River. 
1805,  1806:  p.  754. 

Captain  Gray,  first  American  voyage 
round  the  world.  1792:  p.  577:  dis- 
covers the  Columbia  River. 

John  C.  Fremont,  explores  passes  in 
Rocky  Mountains.  1843-1846:  pp. 
791-794:  803. 

Dr.  E.  K.  Kane  in  search  of  Sir  John 
Franklin.  1850-1851:  p.  841. 

Arctic  Explorations  by  Dr.  Hayes. 
Captain  Hall.  Lieutenant  Sehwatka. 
and  Lieutenant  Commanding  De 
Long:  1860-1882:  pp.  1098-1100. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


1187 


SETTLEMENTS. 

French. 

fjuguenots  in  the  South,  1562-1564; 
pp.  61-66:  North,  Acadie,  1607:  Que- 
bec founded,  1608;  pp.  67,  68. 

Walloons  (Protestant)  in  Brooklyn, 

N.  Y.,  1625;  p.  149:  Missions  and 
Colonists,  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  1661;  p, 
246. 

Pascagoula  settled,  New  Orleans  foun- 
ded, 1699-1718;  pp.  259,  260. 

German  colonists  under  the  French, 
1722;  p.  261. 

English.  . 

Virginia,  Jamestown  founded,  1607; 
pp.  77-88. 

New  England , Plymouth,  landing  at, 
December  11  (22  N.  S.),  1620;  pp.  96- 
101:  Salem,  1629;  Boston,  1630;  pp. 
107-109. 

Rhode  Island,  at  Providence,  1636;  p. 
113;  Hartford  (Dutch),  1614;  Migra. 
tion  through  the  wilderness,  pp. 
lia-115. 

New  Haven,  Theophilus  Eaton  founds, 
1638;  p.  120. 

Maryland,  Lord  Baltimore,  1632;  p. 
134. 

Pennsylvania,  the  grant  to  Penn,  1681 ; 
pp.  167-170. 

Carolinas,  the  Proprietaries;  Grand 
Model,  1663;  pp.  175-179. 

Georgia , Oglethorpe,  the  poor  man’s 
friend,  1732-1753;  pp.  190-195. 

Hutch. 

Hartford,  trading  houses,  1614;  pp. 
113-114. 

New  York,  on  Manhattan  Island,  1614, 
and  up  the  river,  1615;  pp.  146-150. 

On  the  Delaware,  with  the  Swedes, 
1638;  pp.  157,  158. 

American. 

Migration  beyond  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains, from  1768  to  1794 : p.  585. 

Texas,  first  American  Colonists,  1813;  | 
second  migration,  1835:  pp.  743,  744.  1 

Oregon,  first  settlers,  1842;  pp.  790, 
791. 

Utah,  Mormons  take  possession  of, 
1833-1850;  pp.  837-839. 


LAND  HOLDING.  - TOWN  AND 
COUNTY  MEETINGS. 

Land  distribution  in  New  England, 
pp.  105,  231,  232;  in  Virginia  and  the 
Carolinas,  pp.  2:34,  235. 

Homestead  law  and  results,  p.  1101. 
Town  meetings,  the  effect,  pp.  231, 
232 

County  meetings,  the  effect,  pp.  233- 
236. 

Suffrage  qualifications,  pp.  1105. 
TREATIES. 

England.  First,  September  3,  1783;  p. 
556:  Jay's,  1795;  p.  588:  of  Ghent, 
proclaimed  February  18,  1815;  p. 
682;  first  Washington,  1842;  p.  740: 
second  Washington,  1871;  pp.  1050- 
1052. 

France.  Secret,  1777;  p.  455:  February 
6,  1778;  p.  493:  1783;  p.  556:  April  30, 
1803;  p.  600:  claims,  1836;  p.  729. 
Spain.  First,  1783;  p.  556:  1795;  p.  589: 

Florida  ceded,  1821:  pp.  691,  692. 
Holland.  A virtual  treaty,  1780;  p. 

527:  commercial,  1780;  p.  556. 
Algiers.  In  1796,  p.  589:  June  3,  1805; 
p.  603. 

Russia  and  Ottoman  Empire,  com- 
mercial, 1836;  p.  730. 

Mexico,  proclaimed  July  4,  1848;  p. 
825. 

Japan,  commercial,  1853:  p.  845. 
China,  commercial,  1867;  p.  1045. 

ACQUISITIONS  OF  TERRITORY. 

Louisiana  purchased,  1803;  p.  600. 
Florida  obtained,  1819;  p.  691. 

New  Mexico  and  California  ceded, 
1848;  p.  825. 

Mesilla  Valley  bought,  1853;  p.  844. 
Alaska  purchased,  1867;  p.  1045. 

IMMIGRANTS. 

Unskilled,  1819  and  onward,  p.  865; 
skilled  and  educated,  pp.  1102,  1103. 

EDUCATION.— THE  PRESS. 
Massachusetts,  common  schools  estab- 
lished, 1647;  pp.  123,  124:  training  of 
children— the  results ; pp.  126,  127. 
New  England  schools,  pp.  238,  320,  322. 
Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia, 
138,  235. 


1188 


TOPICAL  INDEX, 


EDUCATION. -THE  PRESS.— Cox- 

TIXT7BD . 

Middle  colonies,  schools,  169,  236. 

Schools  in  all  the  States  since  1868,  p. 
HOC 

Operatives,  moral  and  literary  train- 
ing of,  p.  712. 

Colonists,  inner  life  of.  pp.  126-128; 
234,  235. 

Colonists,  characteristics  of.  pp.  317- 
324. 

Indian  Territory  Schools,  p.  1061. 

Illiteracy,  census  of  1860:  pp.  658-861. 

The  Press  vindicated,  221 : in  colonial 
times.  232-235. 

Xetcspapers.  origin  of,  237:  influence, 
238;  increase.  1106. 

Hindrances  of  Education  removed, 
1105. 

Young  Men's  and  Women  s Christian 
Associations,  1104. 

INDUSTRIES. 

Manufactures,  colonial  pp.  129.  182: 
trade  crippled.  202.  326:  crude  han- 
dicraft. 235,  239  ; crops  and  animals. 
239:  national.  577,  613,  702;  cotton 
manufacture.  713,  714:  results,  717- 
719:  woollen  manufacture. 720:  equal- 
izing measure.  721:  depression  in 
industries.  696.  732:  industrial  prog- 
ress. 971:  iron  and  steel,  silk,  wool 
and  cotton,  1068-1059. 

Agriculture,  progress  of.  1075. 

First  Locomotive.  1332:  p.  TOO. 

First  steamboat.  1807:  p.  687. 

First  ocean  steamer,  1818:  p.  687. 

First  railroad , 1827 : p.  700. 

Canals.  Erie  and  Ohio.  1825-1832:  p. 
700. 

Xational  road.  1820:  p.  700. 

Union  Pacific.  1869:  p.  1047. 

Rail  trays,  aggregate  length  of.  p.  1101. 

WARS  AND  BATTLES. 

First  Period.— To  close  of  Revo- 
lution. 

Bennington.  August  16:  pp.  476.  477. 

Braddock's  defeat.  July  9.  1755:  pp. 
279-286. 

Brandywine.  September  11 : p.  465. 

Bunker  Hill.  June  17.  1775:  pp.  371-377. 

Camden.  August  16.  1790:  p.  518. 

Cherry  Valley.  August.  1778:  p.  498. 

Concord.  April  19,  1775:  pp.  358-361. 


WARS  AND  BATTLES.— CosnyrKD. 
Cornwallis,  surrender  of,  October  19, 
1781;  p.  545,  548-550. 

Cowpens.  January  17, 1781:  pp.  533-535. 
Eutaw  Springs.  September  S:  p.  541. 
French  and  Indian  war,  from  1757  to 
1763:  pp.  300-316. 

Indian  War  in  Virginia.  March.  1622: 
pp.  131,  137-139. 

King  Philip's,  1671 : pp.  203-210. 

King's  3Iountain,  October  9;  pp.  524- 

526. 

Lexington,  April  19,  1775;  pp.  -358-361. 
Long  Island,  August  27, 1776;  pp.  417- 

423. 

Louisburg  captured,  June  17, 1745:  pp. 

264.  265. 

Monmouth.  June  28.  1778:  p.  494. 
Pequod  War.  1637:  pp.  116-120. 
Princeton.  January  3. 1777 : pp.  437.  443. 
Saratoga,  the  surrender,  October  17; 

pp.  480-483. 

Stony  Point.  July  16.  1779:  p 505. 
Trenton.  December  26.  1776: 

Wyoming.  July,  1778:  p.  494 

Second  Period.— To  close  of  Mexi- 
can War. 

Bladensburg.  August  24:  p.  669. 

Buena  Vista.  February  22.  1847 ; p.  774. 
Cerro  Gordo.  April  18:  p.  808. 
Champlain,  lake.  September  11 : p.  665. 
Churubusco.  August  20:  p.  817. 

Erie.  lake.  September  10.  1813:  the 
Thames.  October  5:  p.  647. 

Great  Horse  shoe,  March  28,  1814;  p. 
654. 

Hull's  surrender.  July  9.  1812;  pp.  630- 

632. 

Indian  War.  1791:  pp.  578-580.  ^ 

Lundy's  Lane.  July  25:  p.  663. 

Mexico,  city  of.  occupied.  September 
14.  1847:  p.  821. 

Molino  del  Rey.  September  8:  p.  817. 
Monterey  captured.  September  23:  pp. 

764-767. 

Naval  battles,  from  July  1, 1812,  to  Jan- 
uary 1.  1813:  pp.  637-642. 

New  Orleans.  January  8. 1815:  pp.  678- 

681. 

Palo  Alto.  May  8.  1846;  p.  758. 

San  Jacinto.  April  21.  1836:  pp.  746. 
Tippecanoe  battle.  November  7.  1811: 
pp.  619-621. 

V era  Cruz  bombarded.  March  22:  p.  8)6. 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


1189 


WARS  AND  BATTLES. -Continued. 

Third  Period.— To  close  of  Rebel- 
lion., 

1861. 

Ball’s  Bluff,  October  21;  p.  904. 

Bull  Run  (first),  July  21;  pp.  895-897. 

Hilton  Head,  November  7;  p.  906. 

Sumpter  fired  on,  April  12,  4.30  a.m.  ; 
p.  883. 

Wilson’s  Creek,  August  9-10;  p.  899. 

1862. 

Antietam,  September  17;  pp.  958-960. 

Bull  Run  (second),  September  2;  pp. 
955,  956. 

Fair  Oaks,  June  1;  p.  945. 

Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  February 
6-16;  pp.  913-917. 

Fredericksburg,  December  13;  p.  962. 

June  26  commenced  the  Seven  Days’ 
Battle. 

Malvern  Hill,  July  1;  p.  951. 

Merrimac  and  Monitor  duel,  March  9; 
pp.  932-936. 

Mill  Spring,  January  17 ; p.  910 

New  Orleans  taken,  April  26;  pp.  926- 
929. 

Pittsburg  Landing,  or  Shiloh,  April  6 
and  7;  pp.  923-926. 

Williamsburg,  May  5;  p.  941. 

1863. 

Above  the  Clouds,  November  23;  p. 
995. 

Atlanta  (iron-clad)  captured,  June  17; 
p.  989. 

Bragg's  defeat,  November  25;  p.  996. 

Chancellorville,  May  2 and  3;  p.  973. 

Chickamauga,  September  19  and  20; 
p.  993. 

Gettysburg,  July  1-3;  pp.  979-984. 

Murfreesboro,  January  2;  p.  967. 

Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson  taken,  Ju- 
ly 4 and  9;  pp.  985-987. 

1864. 

“Alabama,”  The,  sunk,  June  19;  p. 
1030. 

Chattanooga,  Sherman’s  March  from, 
to  the  sea.  May  9 to  December  20; 
pp.  1000-1005. 

Early  and  Sheridan,  July  3 and  Octo- 
ber 13;  pp.  1011-1013. 

Mobile  virtually  captured,  August  23; 
p.  1014. 


WARS  AND  BATTLES.— Continued. 
Nashville,  battle  of,  December  15  and 

16;  p.  1016. 

Wilderness,  battles  in  the,  May  4-18; 
pp.  1007-1009. 

1865. 

Lee  surrenders  at  Appomattox,  Va., 
April  9;  Johnston  near  Raleigh,  N. 
C.,  April  17,  pp.  1021-1025. 

HOW  WE  ARE  GOVERNED. 

A Unique  Republic,  1111.  Colonial 
Governments,  1112.  Articles  of  Con- 
federation, 1113.  Framing  of  the  U. 
S.  Constitution,  1114.  The  House  of 
Representatives,  1116.  The  Senate, 
1117.  Passage  of  Bills— the  Presi- 
dent, 1118.  The  Cabinet^Depart- 
ment  of  State,  1119.  The  Treasury, 

1120.  War  and  Navy  Departments, 

1121.  Interior  and  Post-Office  de- 
partments, 1122.  The  Judiciary,  1123. 
Impeachment  of  U.  S.  Officers,  1124. 
Election  of  President  and  Vice-Pres- 
ident, 1124.  State  Governments,  1126. 
The  Territories,  1127.  District  o: 
Columbia,  1128. 

INCIDENTS. 

Columbus,  p.  38;  Spain  and  England, 
contrast  between,  70;  Pocahontas, 
81,  86:  King  James  I.,  93;  Squanto, 
102;  Thanksgiving,  104;  Good  Mr. 
Higginson,  107;  The  Apostle  Eliot, 
126;  The  tithing-man,  127;  The  Old 
Dominion,  137;  Treachery  and  in- 
dignation, 140;  Berkeley  and  Drum- 
mond, 142;  Indian  gratitude,  154; 
Indian  diplomacy,  155;  Stuyvesant, 
angry,  159;  Penn  in  the  tower,  166; 
Oglethorpe  and  the  Indian  chiefs, 
192;  Faith  on  shipboard,  194;  Wam- 
sutta’s  death,  204;  Captain  Wads- 
worth and  Andros,  213;  The  same 
and  Fletcher,  219;  Stoughton  and 
Burroughs,  226:  l ather  Dreuilettes 
and  the  Apostle  Eliot,  245;  Waldron 
and  the  Indians,  254;  Hannah  Dus- 
tin, 256;  Eunice  Williams  and  her 
daughter,  257,  258;  Captain  Jack, 
280;  Washington  and  Braddock,  281 ; 
Captain  Jacobs.  296;  Washington  in 
the  House  of  Burgesses,  305.  Wolfe 
and  Montcalm,  308  and  309:  James 
Otis  and  John  Adams,  328;  Colonel 


1190 


TOPICAL  INDEX. 


INCIDENTS . — Coxtixued. 
Barre's  spirited  address.  331:  Pat- 
rick Henry's  speech,  333:  William 
Pitt's  address  in  Parliament.  336: 
The  tea  overboard.  347;  Rev.  Mr. 
Duche,  35-2;  Ethan  Allen  and  Captain 
Delaplace.  363:  Dr.  Warren  and  Put- 
nam at  Bunker  Hill.  274,  375:  The 
two  receptions.  378:  Sergeant  Jas- 
per. 406:  The  mistake  and  the  Tory 
woman.  421:  The  way  to  the  Hes- 
sians. 437 : Arnold  and  the  Tory,  451; 
Capture  of  General  Prescott.  461: 
Mrs.  Darrah  overhears.  470:  Jenny 
McCrea . 473:  The  belligerent  par- 
son. 476:  Arnold  acting  without  or- 
ders, 480:  Meeting  of  Washington 
and  Lee  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth. 
495;  Rev.  James  Caldwell  and  wife. 
514:  Wayne  and  his  rebellious  sol- 
diers. 531:  “ Cornwallis  is  taken.  " 
550:  Lafayette  to  Napoleon,  551: 
Lord  North's  emotions.  555:  Wash- 
ington's farewell  to  his  soldiers.  560: 
Mob  violence.  630:  The  Constitution 
and  the  Guerriere.  639,  640:  General 
Jackson  and  Wetherford,  654:  and 
the  Indian  babe.  655:  What  the  Lon- 
don Times  thought.  641;  Colonel 
Miller  at  Lundy's  Lane.  663:  A 
strange  scene.  666:  How  the  com- 
promise tariff  was  passed.  725:  Dr. 
Grant's  death.  745:  Santa  Anna  at 
Houston's  headquarters.  746:  Firing 
the  Southern  Heart.  883:  The  Varu- 
na.  923:  Practical  printers.  929:  Lin- 
coln's plan  of  campaign,  932:  Cap- 
tain Worden's  inquiry.  936:  Generals 
Hooker  and  Heintzelman.  941:  Lee 
at  Gettysburg.  934:  General  Grant 
and  President  Lincoln.  999:  Sheri- 
dan's Ride.  1013;  Reinstatement  of 
the  old  flag.  1029:  General  Lee's  ad- 
vice to  a mother.  1049;  Garfield  in 
Wall  Street.  1087:  Chester  A.  Ar- 
thur's two  law  casas.  1093. 

SKETCHES  OF  INDIVIDUALS. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  p.  826. 

Samuel  Adams.  328. 

Ethan  Allen.  362. 

John  Andre.  521. 

Benedict  Arnold.  362. 

Chester  A Arthur.  1093. 

Nathaniel  Bacon.  139. 


Jacob  Brown.  661. 

John  Brown.  853. 

James  Buchanan,  850. 

Sebastian  Cabot,  48. 

John  C.  Calhoun.  622. 

Henry  Clay,  622. 

James  and  George  Clinton.  416. 
Columbus,  34. 

Elskwatawa.  619,  620. 

| Benjamin  Franklin,  173. 

1 Colonel  Ferguson,  524. 

John  Charles  Fremont.  791. 

James  A.  Garfield.  1078. 

Horatio  Gates.  404. 

Horace  Greeley,  1065. 

Nathaniel  Greene.  380. 

Alexander  Hamilton.  350. 

William  H.  Harrison.  736. 

R.  B.  Hayes,  1071. 

Patrick  Henry.  329. 

Anne  Hutchinson,  112. 

Andrew  Jackson.  648. 

Andrew  Johnson.  1027. 

King  James.  78. 

Sir  William  Johnson,  378. 

Lafayette.  462. 

Henry  Laurens,  528. 

Charles  Lee.  430. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  1026. 

Benjamin  Lincoln,  357. 

Chief -Justice  Marshall.  728. 

Cotton  Mather,  223,  228. 

Daniel  Morgan.  380. 

The  Pilgrim  Fathers.  97,  98. 

Pontiac.  313. 

Powhattan.  80. 

Israel  Putnam.  361. 

William  Penn.  165. 

Colonel  Rahl.  436. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  71,  75. 

Santa  Anna,  812. 

Winfield  Scott,  661. 

Philip  Schuyler.  377. 

Samuel  Slater  father  of  American 
manufactures*,  578. 

John  Smith.  79. 

Edwin  M.  Stanton.  912. 

William  Stoughton.  225.  228. 

Charles  Sumner.  1065. 

Colonel  Banastre  Tarleton.  512. 
Tecumseh.  619. 

George  Washington.  271. 

Daniel  Webster.  658. 

Roger  Williams.  110. 

James  Wolfe,  -309. 


APPENDIX. 


Constitution  or  the  United  States. 
Amendments  to  the  Same. 

Declaration  of  Independence. 

Presidents  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

Chief  Justices  of  U.  S.  Supreme  Court. 
Presidents  of  the  United  States. 

Population  of  the  United  States. 

The  Forty-Five  Most  Populous  Cities  of  the 
K ation. 


1191 


“ As  the  British  Constitution  is  the  most  subtile  organism  which  has 
proceeded  from  progressive  history , so  the  American  Constitution  is 
the  most  wonderful  work  ever  struck  off  at  a given  time  by  the  brain 
and  purpose  of  many — William  E.  Gladstone. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


We  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a more  per* 
feet  Union,  establish  Justice,  insure  domestic  Tranquillity,  pro* 
vide  for  the  common  defense,  promote  the  general  Welfare, 
and  secure  the  Blessings  of  Liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  Pos- 
terity, do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the 
United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE  I. 

Section.  1.  All  legislative  Powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of 
a Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 

Section.  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed 
of  Members  chosen  every  second  Year  by  the  People  of  the  several 
States,  and  the  Electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  Qualifications 
requisite  for  Electors  of  the  most  numerous  Branch  of  the  State 
Legislature. 

No  Person  shall  be  a Representative  who  shall  not  have  at- 
tained to  the  Age  of  twenty-five  Years,  and  been  seven  Years  a 
Citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be 
an  Inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  Taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among 
the  several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union, 
according  to  their  respective  Numbers,  which  shall  be  determined 
by  adding  to  the  whole  Number  of  free  Persons,  including  those 
bound  to  Service  for  a Term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  Persons.  The  actual  Enumeration 
shall  be  made  within  three  Years  after  the  first  Meeting  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subsequent  Term 
of  ten  Years,  in  such  Manner  as  they  shall  by  Law  direct.  The 
Number  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty 
Thousand,  but  each  State  shall  have  at  Least  one  Representative ; 
and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  chuse  three,  Massachusetts  eight, 
Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five, 
New  York  six,  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware 

1193 


1194 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  EXITED  STATES. 


one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina  fire,  South  Caro* 
lina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  Representation  from  any  State, 
the  Executive  Authority  thereof  shall  issue  Writs  of  Election  to 
fill  such  V acanc-ies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  chuse  their  Speaker  and 
other  officers;  and  shall  have  the  sole  Power  of  impeachment. 

Section.  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  he  composed 
of  two  Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  Legislature  thereof, 
for  six  years ; and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  Vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  Consequence  of 
the  first  Election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into 
three  Classes.  The  Seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  Class  shall  be 
vacated  at  the  Expiration  of  the  second  Year,  of  the  second  Class 
at  the  Expiration  of  the  fourth  Year,  and  of  the  third  Class  at  the 
Expiration  of  the  sixth  Year,  so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen 
every  second  Year;  and  if  Vacancies  happen  by  Resignation,  oi 
otherwise,  during  the  Recess  of  the  Legislature  of  any  State,  the 
Executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  Appointments  until  the 
next  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  Va- 
cancies. 

No  Person  shall  be  a Senator  w>  o shall  not  have  attained  to 
the  Age  of  thirty  Years,  and  been  nine  Years  a Citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  Inhabitant 
of  that  State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of 
the  Senate,  but  shall  have  noVote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  chuse  their  other  Officers,  and  also  a President 
pro  tempore , in  the  Absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he 
shall  exercise  the  Office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  Power  to  try  all  Impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  Purpose,  they  shall  be  on  Oath  or  Affirma- 
tion. When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief 
Justice  shall  preside : And  no  Person  shall  be  convicted  without 
the  Concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  Members  present. 

Judgment  in  Cases  of  Impeachment  shall  not  extend  further 
than  to  removal  from  Office,  and  Disqualification  to  hold  and 
enjoy  any  Office  of  honour,  Trust  or  Profit  under  the  United 
States : but  the  Party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and 
subject  to  Indictment,  Trial,  Judgment  and  Punishment,  accord- 
ing to  Law. 

Section.  4.  The  Times,  Places  and  Manner  of  holding  Elections 
for  Senators  and  Representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State 
by  the  Legislature  thereof ; but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by 
Law  make  or  alter  such  Regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of 
chusing  Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  Year,  and 


APPENDIX. 


1195 


such  Meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they 
shall  by  Law  appoint  a different  Day. 

Section.  5.  Each  House  shall  be  the  Judge  of  the  Elections, 
Returns  and  Qualifications  of  its  own  Members,  and  a Majority  of 
each  shall  constitute  a Quorum  to  do  Business ; but  a smaller  Num- 
ber may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  com- 
pel the  Attendance  of  absent  Members,  in  such  manner,  and  under 
such  penalties,  as  each  House  may  provide. 

Each  House  may  determine  the  Rules  of  its  Proceedings,  punish 
its  Members  for  disorderly  Behaviour,  and,  with  the  Concurrence 
of  two  thirds,  expel  a Member. 

Each  House  shall  keep  a Journal  of  its  Proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  Parts  as  may  in  their 
Judgment  require  Secrecy;  and  the  Yeas  and  Nays  of  the  Mem- 
bers of  either  House  on  any  question  shall,  at  the  Desire  of  one 
fifth  of  those  Present  be  entered  on  the  J ournal. 

Neither  House,  during  the  Session  Of  Congress,  shall,  without 
the  Consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to 
ary  other  Place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section.  6.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a 
Compensation  for  their  Services,  to  be  ascertained  by  Law,  and 
paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall  in  all 
Cases,  except  Treason,  Felony,  and  Breach  of  the  Peace,  be  privi- 
leged from  Arrest  during  their  Attendance  at  the  Session  of  their 
respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same ; 
and  for  any  Speech  or  Debate  in  either  House,  they  shall  not  be 
questioned  in  any  other  Place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  Time  for  which 
he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  Office  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  Emolu- 
ments whereof  shall  have  been  encreased  during  such  time ; and 
no  Person  holding  any  Office  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  a 
Member  of  either  House  during  his  Continuance  in  Office. 

Section.  7.  All  Bills  for  raising  Revenue  shall  originate  in  the 
House  of  Representatives;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur 
with  Amendments  as  on  other  Bills. 

Every  Bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  becomes  a Law,  be  presented 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States ; If  he  approve  he  shall  sign 
it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  Objections  to  that  House 
in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  Objections  at 
large  on  their  Journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If  after  such 
Reconsideration  two  thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree  to  pass  the 
Bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other 
House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved 
by  two  thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a Law.  But  in  all 
such  Cases  the  Votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas 


1196 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  Nays,  and  the  Names  of  the  Persons  voting  for  and  against 
the  Bill  shall  be  entered,  on  the  Journal  of  each  House  respectively. 
If  any  Bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days 
(Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the 
Same  shall  be  a law,  in  like  Manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it.  unless 
the  Congress  by  their  Adjournment  prevent  its  Return,  in  which 
Case  it  shall  not  be  a Law. 

Every  Order,  Resolution,  or  V ote  to  which  the  Concurrence  of 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be  necessary  (except 
on  a question  of  Adjournment)  shall  be  presented  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States;  and  before  the  Same  shall  take  Effect,  shall 
be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  re- 
passed by  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
according  to  the  Rules  and  Limitations  prescribed  in  the  Case  of  a 
Bill. 

Section.  8.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power 

To  lay  and  collect  Taxes,  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises,  to  pay 
the  Debts  and  provide  for  the  common  Defence  and  general  Wel- 
fare of  the  United  States;  but  all  Duties.  Imposts  and  Excises  shall 
be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States; 

To  borrow  Money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

To  regulate  Commerce  with  foreign  Nations,  and  among  the 
several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  Tribes ; 

To  establish  an  uniform  Rule  of  Naturalization,  and  uniform 
Laws  on  the  subject  of  Bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States  ; 

To  coin  Money,  regulate  the  Value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  Coin, 
and  fix  the  Standard  of  Weights  and  Measures; 

To  provide  for  the  Punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  Securities 
and  current  Coin  of  the  United  States; 

To  establish  Post  Offices  and  post  Roads ; 

To  promote  the  progress  of  Science  and  useful  Arts,  by  secur- 
ing for  limited  Times  to  Authors  and  Inventors  the  exclusive  Right 
to  their  respective  Writings  and  Discoveries ; 

To  constitute  Tribunals  inferior  to  the  supreme  Court : 

To  define  and  punish  Piracies  and  Felonies  committed  on  the 
high  Seas,  and  Offences  against  the  Law  of  Nations ; 

To  declare  War,  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal,  and 
make  Rules  concerning  Captures  on  Land  and  Water : 

To  raise  and  support  Armies,  but  no  Appropriation  of  Money 
to  that  Use  shall  be  for  a longer  Term  than  two  Years ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a Navy ; 

To  make  Rules  for  the  Government  and  Regulation  of  the 
land  and  naval  Forces ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  Militia  to  execute  the  Laws  of 
the  Union,  suppress  Insurrections  and  repel  Invasions ; 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining,  the  Militia, 
and  for  governing  such  Part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the 


APPENDIX. 


1197 


Servic  e of  the  United  States,  reserving  to  the  States  respectively, 
the  Appointment  of  the  Officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the 
Militia  according  to  the  Discipline  prescribed  by  Congress; 

To  exercise  exclusive  Legislation  in  all  Cases  whatsoever, 
over  such  District  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by 
Cession  of  particular  States,  and  the  Acceptance  of  Congress,  be- 
come the  Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  ex- 
ercise like  Authority  over  all  Places  purchased  by  the  Consent  of 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  Same  shall  be,  for  the 
Erection  of  Forts,  Magazines,  Arsenals,  Dock-Yards,  and  other 
needful  Buildings ; — And 

To  make  all  Laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
carrying  into  Execution  the  foregoing  Powers,  and  all  other 
Powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  or  in  any  Department  or  Officer  thereof. 

Section.  9.  The  Migration  or  Importation  of  such  Persons  as 
any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall 
not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  Year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a Tax  or  Duty  may  be  imposed  on 
such  Importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  Person. 

The  Privilege  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  shall  not  be  sus- 
pended, unless  when  in  Cases  of  Rebellion  or  Invasion  the  public 
Safety  may  require  it. 

No  Bill  of  Attainder  or  ex  post  facto  Law  shall  be  passed. 

No  Capitation,  or  other  direct,  Tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  Pro- 
portion to  the  Census  or  Enumeration  herein  before  directed  to  be 
taken. 

No  Tax  or  Duty  shall  be  laid  on  Articles  exported  from  any 
State. 

No  Preference  shall  be  given  by  any  Regulation  of  Commerce 
or  Revenue  to  the  Ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another : nor 
shall  Vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter, 
clear,  or  pay  Duties  in  another. 

No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but  in  Conse- 
quence of  Appropriations  made  by  Law ; and  a regular  Statement 
and  Account  of  the  Receipts  and  Expenditures  of  all  public  Money 
shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States: 
And  no  Person  holding  any  Office  of  Profit  or  Trust  under  them, 
shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present. 
Emolument,  Office,  or  Title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  King, 
Prince,  or  foreign  State. 

Section.  10.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  Treaty,  Alliance,  or 
Confederation;  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and  Reprisal ; coin  Money; 
emit  Bills  of  Credit;  make  any  Thing  but  gold  and  silver  Coin  a 
Tender  in  Payment  of  Debts;  pass  any  bill  of  Attainder,  ex  post 


1198 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


facto  Law,  or  Law  impairing  the  Obligation  of  Contracts,  or  grant 
any  Title  of  Nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
Imposts  or  Duties  on  Imports  or  Exports,  except  what  may  be 
absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  Laws:  and  the 
net  Produce  of  all  Duties  and  Imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  Im- 
ports or  Exports,  shall  be  for  the  Use  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States;  and  all  such  Laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  Revision  and 
Controul  of  the  Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any 
Duty  of  Tonnage,  keep  Troops,  or  Ships  of  War  in  time  of  Peace, 
enter  into  any  Agreement  or  Compact  with  another  State,  or 
with  a foreign  Power,  or  engage  in  War,  unless  actually  invaded, 
or  in  such  imminent  Danger  as  will  not  admit  of  Delay. 

ARTICLE  II. 

Section.  1.  The  executive  Power  shall  be  vested  in  a President 
of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  Office  during 
the  Term  of  four  Years,  and,  together  with  the  Yic-e  President, 
chosen  for  the  same  Term,  be  elected,  as  follows 

Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  Manner  as  the  Legislature 
thereof  may  direct,  a Number  of  Electors,  equal  to  the  whole 
Number  of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the  State  may 
be  entitled  in  the  Congress:  but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or 
Person  holdiug  an  Office  of  Trust  or  Profit  under  the  United  States, 
shall  be  appointed  an  Elector. 

[*  The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote 
by  Ballot  for  two  Persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an 
Inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make 
a List  of  all  the  Persons  voted  for.  and  of  the  Number  of  Votes  for 
each;  which  List  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed 
to  the  Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the 
President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the 
Presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all 
the  Certificates,  and  the  Votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  Person 
having  the  greatest  Number  of  Votes  shall  be  the  President,  if 
such  Number  be  a Majority  of  the  whole  Number  of  Electors  ap- 
pointed ; and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  Majority, 
and  have  an  equal  Number  of  Votes,  then  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives shall  immediately  chuse  by  Ballot  one  of  them  for  President ; 
and  if  no  Person  have  a Majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the 
List  the  said  House  shall  in  like  Manner  chuse  the  President.  But 
in  chusing  the  President,  the  Votes  shall  be  taken  by  States,  the 
Representation  from  each  State  having  one  Vote;  A Quorum  for 

♦This  clause  within  brackets  has  been  superseded  and  annulled  by  the 
XII  th  amendment,  on  page  1013. 


APPENDIX. 


1199 


this  Purpose  shall  consist  of  a Member  or  Members  from  two  thirds 
of  the  States,  and  a Majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to 
a Choice.  In  every  Case,  after  the  Choice  of  the  President,  the 
Person  having  the  greatest  Number  of  Votes  of  the  Electors  shall 
be  Vice  President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who 
have  equal  Votes,  the  Senate  shall  chuse  from  them  by  Ballot  the 
Vice  President.] 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  Time  of  chusing  the  Electors, 
and  the  Day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  Votes;  which  Day  shall 
be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

No  Person  except  a natural  born  Citizen,  ora  Citizen  of  the 
United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution, 
shall  be  eligible  to  the  Office  of  President ; neither  shall  any  Per- 
son be  eligible  to  that  Office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the 
Age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  Years  a Resident  within 
the  United  States. 

In  Case  of  the  Removal  of  the  President  from  Office,  or  of  his 
Death,  Resignation,  or  Inability  to  discharge  the  Powers  and 
Duties  of  the  said  Office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent, and  the  Congress  may  by  Law  provide  for  the  Case  of  Re- 
moval, Death,  Resignation,  or  Inability,  both  of  the  President  and 
Vice  President,  declaring  what  Officer  shall  then  act  as  President, 
and  such  Officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  Disability  be  re- 
moved,  or  a President  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive  for  his  Services,  a 
Compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  encreased  nor  diminished 
during  the  Period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he 
shall  not  receive  within  that  Period  any  other  Emolument  from 
the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  Execution  of  his  Office,  he  shall  take  the 
following  Oath  or  Affirmation 

“I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I will  faithfully  execute 
the  Office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to  the  best  of 
my  Ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.” 

Section.  2.  The  President  shall  be  Commander  in  Chief  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Militia  of  the 
several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  Service  of  the  United 
States;  he  may  require  the  Opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal 
Officer  in  each  of  the  executive  Departments,  upon  any  subject 
relating  to  the  Duties  of  their  respective  Offices,  and  he  shall  have 
Power  to  grant  Reprieves  and  Pardons  for  Offences  against  the 
United  States,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment. 

He  shall  have  Power,  by  and  with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of 
the  Senate,  to  make  Treaties,  provided  two  thirds  of  the  Senators 
present  concur ; and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  Ad- 
vice and  Consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  Ambassadors,  other 


1200 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


public  Ministers  and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the  supreme  Court,  and  all 
other  Officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  Appointments  are  not 
herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by 
Law : but  the  Congress  may  by  Law  vest  the  Appointment  of  such 
inferior  Officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in 
the  Courts  of  Law,  or  in  the  Heads  of  Departments. 

The  President  shall  have  Power  to  fill  up  all  V acancies  that 
may  happen  during  the  Recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  Com- 
missions which  shall  expire  at  the  End  of  their  next  Session. 

Section.  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Congress 
Information  of  the  State  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their 
Consideration  such  Measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expe- 
dient ; he  may,  on  extraordinary  Occasions,  convene  both  Houses, 
or  either  of  them,  and  in  Case  of  Disagreement  between  them, 
with  Respect  to  the  Time  of  Adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them 
to  such  Time  as  he  shall  think  proper ; he  shall  receive  Ambassa- 
dors and  other  public  Ministers ; he  shall  take  Care  that  the  Laws 
be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  Commission  all  the  officers  of  the 
United  States. 

Section.  4.  The  President,  Vice  President,  and  all  civil  Officers 
of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  Office  on  Impeach- 
ment for,  and  Conviction  of,  Treason,  Bribery,  or  other  high 
Crimes  and  Misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  in. 

Section.  1.  The  judicial  Power  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
vested  in  one  supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  Courts  as  the 
Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  Judges, 
both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  Courts,  shall  hold  their  Offices 
during  good  Behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive  for  their 
Services,  a Compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during 
their  Continuance  in  Office. 

Section.  2.  The  judicial  Power  shall  extend  to  all  Cases,  in  Law 
and  Equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  Laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  Treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  Au- 
thority ; — to  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers, 
and  Consuls; — to  all  Cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  Jurisdic- 
tion ; — to  Controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a Party ; 
— to  Controversies  between  two  or  more  States:— between  a State 
and  a Citizen  of  another  State between  Citizens  of  different 
States, — between  Citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  Lands  under 
Grants  of  different  States,  and  between  a State,  or  the  Citizens 
thereof,  and  foreign  States,  Citizens  or  Subjects. 

In  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers  and 
Consuls,  and  those  in  which  a State  shall  be  Party,  the  supreme 
Court  shall  have  original  Jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  Cases  be- 


APPENDIX. 


1201 


fore  mentioned,  the  supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  Jurisdic- 
tion, both  as  to  Law  and  Fact,  with  such  Exceptions,  and  under 
such  Regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  Trial  of  all  Crimes,  except  in  Cases  of  Impeachment,  shall 
be  by  Jury;  and  such  Trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the 
said  Crimes  shall  have  been  committed ; but  when  not  committed 
within  any  State,  the  Trial  shall  be  at  such  Place  or  Places  as  the 
Congress  may  by  Law  have  directed. 

Section.  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall  consist 
only  in  levying  War  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  Enemies, 
giving  them  Aid  and  Comfort.  No  Person  shall  be  convicted  of 
Treason  unless  on  the  Testimony  of  two  Witnesses  to  the  same 
overt  Act,  or  on  Confession  in  open  Court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  declare  the  Punishment  of 
Treason,  but  no  Attainder  of  Treason  shall  work  Corruption  of 
Blood,  or  Forfeiture  except  during  the  Life  of  the  Person  attainted. 


ARTICLE  IV. 

Section.  1.  Full  Faith  and  Credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State 
t(s  the  public  Acts,  Records,  and  judicial  Proceedings  of  every 
other  State.  And  the  Congress  may  by  general  Laws  prescribe  the 
Manner  in  which  such  Acts,  Records  and  Proceedings  shall  be 
proved,  and  the  Effect  thereof. 

Section.  2.  The  Citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all 
Privileges  and  Immunities  of  Citizens  in  the  several  States. 

A Person  charged  in  any  State  with  Treason,  Felony,  or  other 
Crime,  who  shall  flee  from  Justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State, 
shall  on  Demand  of  the  executive  Authority  of  the  State  from 
which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having 
Jurisdiction  of  the  Crime. 

No  Person  held  to  Service  or  Labour  in  one  State,  under  the 
Laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  Consequence  of  any 
Law  or  Regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  Service  or 
Labour,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on  Claim  of  the  Party  to  whom 
such  Service  or  Labour  may  be  due. 

Section.  3.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into 
this  Union ; but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within 
the  Jurisdiction  of  any  other  State;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by 
the  Junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  Parts  of  States,  without  the 
Consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of 
me  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all 
needful  Rules  and  Regulations  respecting  the  Territory  or  other 
Property  belonging  to  the  United  States;  and  nothing  in  this  Con- 
stitution shall  be  so  construed  as  to  Prejudice  any  claims  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 


1202 


coxstitittiox  or  the  exited  states. 


Section  4.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  State 
in  this  Union  a Republican  Form  of  Government,  and  shall  protect 
each  of  them  against  Invasion;  and  on  Application  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, or  of  the  Executive  (when  the  Legislature  cannot  he  con- 
vened) against  domestic  Violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  Houses  shall  deem 
it  necessary,  shall  propose  Amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on 
the  Application  of  the  Legislatures  of  two  thirds  of  the  several 
States,  shall  call  a Convention  for  proposing  Amendments,  which, 
in  either  Case,  shall  he  valid  to  all  Intents  and  Purposes,  as  Part  of 
this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  three  fourths 
of  the  several  States,  or  by  Conventions  in  three  fourths  thereof, 
as  the  one  or  the  other  Mode  of  Ratification  may  be  proposed  by 
the  Congress ; Provided  that  no  Amendment  which  may  be  made 
prior  to  the  Year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in 
any  Manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  Clauses  in  the  Ninth  Section 
of  the  first  Article ; and  that  no  State,  without  its  Consent,  shall  be 
deprived  of  its  equal  Suffrage  in  the  Senate. 


ARTICLE  VI. 

All  Debts  contracted  and  Engagements  entered  into,  before 
the  Adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  against  the 
United  States  under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  Laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  Pursuance  thereof;  and  all  Treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  LTnited  States,  shall 
be  the  supreme  Law  of  the  Land;  and  the  Judges  in  every  State 
shall  be  bound  thereby,  any  Thing  in  the  Constitution  or  Laws  of 
any  State  to  the  Contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the 
Members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and 
judicial  Officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States, 
shall  be  bound  by  Oath  or  Affirmation,  to  support  this  Constitu- 
tion ; but  no  religious  Test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a Qualification 
to  any  Office  or  public  Trust  under  the  United  States. 


ARTICLE  VII. 

The  Ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States,  shall  be 
sufficient  for  the  Establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the 
States  so  ratifying  the  Same. 


APPENDIX. 


1203 


ARTICLES  IN  ADDITION  TO , AND  AMENDMENT  OF , 
THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF 
AMERICA. 


Proposed  by  Congress , and  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  the  several 
States , pursuant  to  the  fifth  article  of  the  original  Constitution. 

(ARTICLE  I.) 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  re- 
ligion, or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the 
freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press;  or  of  the  right  of  the  people 
peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  Government  for  a re- 
dress of  grievances. 

(ARTICLE  II.) 

A well  regulated  Militia,  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a 
free  State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  Arms,  shall  not 
be  infringed. 

(ARTICLE  III.) 

No  Soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in  any  house, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

(ARTICLE  IV.) 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 
shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  Warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  prob- 
able cause,  supported  by  Oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  de- 
scribing the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be 
seized. 


(ARTICLE  Y.) 

No  person  shull  be  held  to  answer  for  a capital,  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a presentment  or  indictment  of  a Grand 
Jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the 
Militia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  War  or  public  danger; 
nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice 
put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any 
Criminal  Case  to  be  a witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of 
life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law;  nor  shall 


1204 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


private  property  be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just  compensa- 
tion. 

(ARTICLE  VI.) 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right 
to  a speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  Jury  of  the  State  and 
district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  dis- 
trict shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  in- 
formed of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation ; to  be  confronted 
with  the  witnesses  against  him;  to  have  Compulsory  process  for 
obtaining  Witnesses  in  his  favour,  and  to  have  the  Assistance  of 
Counsel  for  his  defence. 


(ARTICLE  VIL) 

In  Suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall 
exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved, 
and  no  fact  tried  by  a jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any 
Court  of  the  United  States  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  com- 
mon law. 


(ARTICLE  Vin.) 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  im- 
posed, nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

(ARTICLE  IX.) 

The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall 
not  be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the 
people. 

(ARTICLE  X.) 

The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitu- 
tion, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States 
respectively,  or  to  the  people. 

(ARTICLE  XI.) 

The  Judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed 
to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted 
against  one  of  the  United  States  by  Citizens  of  another  State,  or 
by  Citizens  or  Subjects  of  any  Foreign  State. 

(ARTICLE  Xn.) 

The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  President  and  Vice  President,  one  of  whom,  at  least, 
shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves ; they 
shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and 
in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  they 
shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and 


APPENDIX. 


1205 


of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number  of 
votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit 
sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed 
to  the  President  of  the  Senate The  President  of  the  Senate  shall, 
in  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all 
the  certificates  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted ; — The  person 
having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  President,  shall  be  the 
President,  if  such  number  shall  be  a majority  of  the  whole  number 
of  Electors  appointed ; and  If  no  person  have  such  majority,  then 
from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three 
on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President.  But 
in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states,  the 
representation  from  each  state  having  one  vote ; a quorum  for  this 
purpose  shall  consist  of  a member  or  members  from  two  thirds  of 
the  states,  and  a majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
choice.  And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a Presi- 
dent whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before 
the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President 
shall  act  as  President,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitu- 
tional disability  of  the  President.  The  person  having  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  as  Vice-President,  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if 
such  number  be  a majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  ap- 
pointed, and  if  no  person  have  a majority,  then  from  the  two 
highest  numbers  on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice- 
President  ; a quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of 
the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a majority  of  the  whole  num- 
ber shall  be  necessary  to  a choice.  But  no  person  constitutionally 
ineligible  to  the  office  of  President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice* 
President  of  the  United  States. 

(ARTICLE  XIII.) 

1865. 

1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a pun 
ishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  con* 
victed  shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to 
their  jurisdiction. 

2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appro- 
priate legislation. 


(ARTICLE  XIV.) 

1868. 

Section.  1.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall 
make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or  im 
munities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  nor  shall  any  State  dc* 


1206 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


prive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law,  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal 
protection  of  the  laws. 

Section.  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the 
several  States  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the 
whole  number  of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not 
taxed.  But  when  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice 
of  electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of 
a State,  or  the  members  of  the  legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to  any 
of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  being  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  way  abridged, 
except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of 
representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which 
the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole  number 
of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 

Section.  3.  No  person  shall  be  a senator  or  representative  in 
Congress,  or  elector  of  President  or  Vice-President,  or  hold  any 
office,  civil  or  military,  under  the  United  States,  or  under  any 
State,  who  having  previously  taken  an  oath  as  a member  of  Con- 
gress, or  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a member  of  any 
State  legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State, 
to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged 
in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  com- 
fort to  the  enemies  thereof ; but  Congress  may,  by  a vote  of  two- 
thirds  of  each  house,  remove  such  disability. 

Section.  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United 
States,  recognized  bylaw,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment 
of  pensions  and  bounties  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection 
or  rebellion,  shall  not  be  questioned.  But  neither  the  United 
States  nor  any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation 
incurred  in  aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United 
States,  or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave ; but 
all  such  debts,  obligations,  aud  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and 
void. 

Section.  5.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  ap- 
propriate legislation,  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

(ARTICLE  XV.) 

1870. 

Section.  1.  The  right  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  vote 
shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any 
State  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

Section.  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this 
article  by  appropriate  legislation. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE* 


A DECLARATION  BY  THE  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
OF  AMERICA,  IN  CONGRESS  ASSEMBLED. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for 
one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected 
them  with  another,  and  to  assume,  among  the  powers  of  the  earth, 
the  separate  and  equal  station,  to  which  the  laws  of  nature,  and  of 
nature’s  God  entitle  them,  a decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  man- 
kind requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel  them 
to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident— that  all  men  are  created 
equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalien- 
able rights;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  That,  to  secure  these  rights,  governments  are  instituted 
among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed;  that,  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes  de- 
structive of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or 
abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a new  government,  laying  its  foundations 
on  such  principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to 
them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness. 
Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  governments  long  established 
should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes  ; and,  accord- 
ingly, all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are  more  disposed  to 
suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abol- 
ishing .the  forms  to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a long 
train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same 
object,  evinces  a design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despotism, 
it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such  government,  and 
to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future  security.  Such  has  been  the 


* For  attending  circumstances,  see  Vol.  I.  p.  411. 


1207 


1208 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


patient  sufferance  of  these  colonies,  and  such  is  now  the  necessity 
which  constrains  them  to  alter  their  former  systems  of  government. 
The  history  of  the  present  king  of  Great  Britain,  is  a history  of 
repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all  having  in  direct  object  the 
establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  States.  To  prove 
this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a candid  world. 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  neces- 
sary for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and 
pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their  operations  till  his 
assent  should  be  obtained;  and,  when  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly 
neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommodation  of  large 
districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of 
representation  in  the  Legislature — a right  inestimable  to  them,  and 
formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual,  un- 
comfortable, and  distant  from  the  repository  of  their  public  records, 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them  into  compliance  with  his 
measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly  for  opposing, 
with  manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause 
others  to  be  elected,  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable  of 
annihilation,  have  returned  to  the  people  at  large  for  their  exercise; 
the  State  remaining,  in  the  meantime,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers 
of  invasions  from  without,  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these  States;  for 
that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for  the  naturalization  of  for- 
eigners; refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage  their  migration  hither, 
and  raising  the  conditions  of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing  his 
assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for  the  tenure  of 
their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither  swarms 
of  officers  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us  in  times  of  peace,  standing  armies,  without 
the  consent  of  our  Legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and 
superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a jurisdiction 
foreign  to  our  constitutions,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws; 
giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended  legislation. 


THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.  1209 


For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us; 

For  protecting  them,  by  a mock  trial,  from  punishment  for  any 
murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these 
States; 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world; 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent; 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury; 

For  transporting  us  beyond  seas,  to  be  tried  for  pretended 
offences; 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a neighboring 
province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary  government,  and  enlarg- 
ing its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit 
instrument  for  introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  colo- 
nies; 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  lawTs, 
and  altering,  fundamentally,  the  forms  of  our  governments; 

For  suspending  our  own  Legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves 
invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out  of  his 
protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burned  our  towns, 
and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercena- 
ries, to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  al- 
ready begun  with  circumstances  of  cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely 
paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the 
head  of  a civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the  higii 
seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the  executioners, 
of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrection  among  us,  and  has  en- 
deavored to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the  merciless 
Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished 
destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions  we  have  petitioned  for  redress 
in  the  most  humble  terms;  our  repeated  petitions  have  been  an- 
swered only  by  repeated  injury.  A prince  whose  character  is  thus 
marked  by  every  act  which  may  define  a tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the 
ruler  of  a free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  our  attentions  to  our  British 
brethren.  We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts 
by  their  legislature  to  extend  an  unwarrantable  jurisdiction  over  us. 
We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigration 
and  settlement  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native  justice  and 


1210  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


magnanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them  by  the  ties  of  our  com- 
mon kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which  would  inevitably 
interrupt  our  connections  and  correspondence.  They,  too,  have 
been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  of  consanguinity.  We  must, 
therefore,  acquiesce  in  the  necessity  wrhich  denounces  our  separa- 
tion, and  hold  them  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind — enemies  in 
war — in  peace,  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
in  general  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of 
the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  good  people  of  these  colonies,  solemnly  publish 
and  declare  that  these  united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be, 
free  and  independent  States;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  allegi- 
ance to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  between 
them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dis- 
solved, and  that,  as  free  and  independent  States,  they  have  full 
power  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  com- 
merce, and  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  independent  States 
may  of  right  do.  And  for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a 
firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually 
pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor. 


{Here  followed  the  names  of  the  fifty -six  Signer's.  ] 


THE  DECLARATION  OE  INDEPENDENCE. 


1211 


The  Signers. 

The  above  Declaration,  which,  after  a preliminary  vote  of  the 
Congress  by  States,  was  formally  adopted  on  July  4th,  1776,  was 
attested  by  the  signatures  of  the  following  fifty-six  delegates.  The 
various  elements  of  the  people  represented  may  be  judged  by  the 
diversity  of  the  occupations  of  these  members  of  the  Continental 
Congress:  farmers,  14;  merchants,  9;  manufacturer,  1;  lawyers,  24; 
physicians,  4;  clergymen,  4, — including  one  actual  ministrant  and 
three  educated  for  the  profession  who  had  taken  up  other  labors. 
The  bold  signature  of  John  Hancock,  President  of  the  Congress, 
stood  first.  The  list  in  alphabetical  order  is  as  follows  : 


NAMES.  BIRTHS. 

John  Adams Braintree,  Mass.,  Oct.  19, 1735. 

Samuel  Adams Boston,  Mass.,  Sept.  22, 1722. 

Josiah  Bartlett  Amesbury, Mass.,  Nov.,  1729. 

Carter  Braxton Newington,  Va.,  Sept.  10, 1736. 

Chas.  Carroll  of  Carrollton.  Annapolis,  Md.,  Sept.  20, 1737. 

Samuel  Chase Somerset  Co.,  Md.,  Ap.  17, 1741. 

Abraham  Clark Elizabetht’n,  N.J.,  Feb.  15, 1726. 

George  Clymer Philadelphia.  Penn.,  1739. 

William  Ellery Newport,  R.  I.,  Dec.  22, 1727. 

William  Floyd Suffolk  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Dee.  17, 1734. 

Benjamin  Franklin Boston,  Mass.,  Jan.  17, 1706. 

Elbridge  Gerry Marblehead,  Mass.,  Jul.  17,  1744. 

Button  Gwinnet England,  1732. 

Lyman  Hall Connecticut,  1731. 

John  Hancock  Braintree,  Mass.,  1737. 

Benjamin  Harrison  Berkely,  Va.,  . 

John  Hart Hopewell,  N.  J.,  about  1715. 

Thomas  Heyward,  Jr St.  Luke’s,  S.  C.,  1746. 

Joseph  Hewes Kingston,  N.  J.  1730. 

William  Hooper Boston,  Mass.,  June  17,  1742. 

Stephen  Hopkins  Scituate,  Mass.,  March  7, 1707. 

Francis  Hopkinson Philadelphia,  Penn..  1737. 

Samuel  Huntington Windham,  Conn.,  July  3, 1733. 

Thomas  Jefferson Shadwell,  Va.,  April  13, 1743. 

Francis  Lightfoot  Lee Stratford,  Va.,  Oct.  14, 1734. 

Richard  Henry  Lee Stratford,  Va.,  Jan.  20,1732. 

Francis  Lewis Landaff,  Wales,  March,  1713. 

Philip  Livingston Albany,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  15, 1716.. 

Thomas  Lynch,  Jr St.  George’s,  S.  C.,  Aug.  5, 1749. 

Thomas  M’Kean Chester  Co.,  Pa.,  Mar.  19,  1734. 

Arthur  Middleton Middleton  Place,  S.  C.,  1743. 

Lewis  xM  orris Morrisania,  N.  Y.,  1726. 

Robert  Morris Lancashire,  Engl. , Jan.,  1733. 

John  Morton Ridley,  Penn.,  1724. 

Thomas  Nelson,  Jr York,  Va.,  Dec.  26,  1738. 

William  Paca Wye-Hill,  Md.,  Oct.  31,  1740. 

Robert  Treat  Paine Boston,  Mass.,  1731. 

John  Penn Caroline  Co.,  Va.,  May  17, 1741. 

George  Read Cecil  Co.,  Md.,  1734. 

Caesar  Rodney Dover,  Del.,  1730. 

George  Ross New  Castle,  Del.,  1730. 

Benjamin  Rush,  M.D Byberry,  Penn.,  Dec.  24, 1745. 

Edward  Rutledge Charleston,  S.  C.,  Nov.,  1749. 

Roger  Sherman Newton,  Mass.,  April  19, 1721.. 

James  Smith Ireland,  

Richard  Stockton Princeton,  N.  J.,  Oct.  1, 1730. 

Thomas  Stone Charles  Co.,  Md.,  1742. 

George  Taylor Ireland,  1716. 

Matthew  Thornton Ireland,  1714. 

George  Walton Frederick  Co.,  Va.,  1740. 

William  Whipple Kittery,  Maine,  1730. 

William  Williams Lebanon,  Conn.,  April  8,  1731. 

James  Wilson Scotland,  about  1742. 

John  Witherspoon Yester,  Scotland,  Feb.  5, 1722. 

Oliver  Wolcott Windsor,  Conn.,  Nov.  26, 1726. 

George  Wythe Elizabeth  City  Co.,  Va.,  1726. 


REPRESENTING.  DEATHS. 

.Massachusetts July  4, 1826 

.Massachusetts Oct.  2,1803 

.New  Hampshire. .May  19,1795 

.Virginia Oct.  10, 1797 

.Maryland Nov.  14, 1832 

.Maryland June  19, 1811 

.New  Jersey June  — , 1794 

.Pennsylvania Jan.  24,1813 

.R.  I.  & Prov.  PI.. Feb.  15,  1820 

.New  York — Aug.  4,1821 

.Pennsylvania April  17,  1790 

.Massachusetts Nov.  23,1814 

.Georgia May  27,  1777 

.Georgia Feb.  —,1790 

.Massachusetts Oct.  8,1793 

.Virginia April  — , 1791 

.New  Jersey , 1780 

.South  Carolina. . . Mar.  — , 1809 
.North  Carolina. . .Nov.  10,  1779 
.North  Carolina. . .Oct.  — , 1790 
.R.  I.  & Prov.  PL. July  19, 1785 

.New  Jersey May  9, 1790 

.Connecticut Jan.  5,  1796 

.Virginia July  4,1826 

.Virginia April  — , 1797 

.Virginia June  19.  1794 

.New  York Dec.  30, 1803 

.New  York June  12, 1778 

.So.  Carolina. . .Lost  at  sea,  1779 

.Delaware June  24, 1817 

.South  Carolina ...  Jan.  1 , 1787 

.New  York Jan.  22, 1798 

.Pennsylvania May  8,1806 

.Pennsylvania April  — , 1777 

.Virginia Jan.  4, 1789 

Maryland , 1799 

.Massachusetts May  11,1814 

.North  Carolina. . .Sept.  — , 1788 

.Delaware , 1798 

.Delaware , 1783 

.Pennsylvania July  —,1779 

.Pennsylvania April  19,  1813 

. South  Carolina ...  Jan.  23, 1800 

.Connecticut July  23, 1793 

.Pennsylvania July  11,1806 

.New  Jersey  Feb.  28, 1781 

. Maryland Oct.  5,  1787 

.Pennsylvania Feb.  23,1781 

.New  Hampshire. .June  24, 1803 

. Georgia Feb.  2,  1804 

.New  Hampshire. .Nov.  28,  1785 

.Connecticut Aug.  2, 1811 

.Pennsylvania Aug.  28,1798 

.New  Jersey Nov.  15,1794 

Connecticut Dec.  1,1797 

.Virginia June  8,1806 


1212 


APPENDIX. 


PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS, 
From  1774  to  1788. 


Peyton  Randolph 

. . .Virginia 

5, 1774. 

Henry  Middleton 

. . South  Carolina 

22, 1774. 

Peyton  Randolph 

. . .Virginia 

10,  1775. 

John  Hancock 

. . Massachusetts 

May 

24,  1775. 

Henry  Laurens 

. . . South  Carolina 

November 

1, 1777. 

John  Jay 

. .New  York 

10,  1778. 

Samuel  Huntington. . . 

. . . Connecticut 

Thomas  McKean 

. . . Delaware 

July 

10, 1781. 

John  Hanson 

. . . Maryland 

5,  1781. 

Elias  Boudinot 

. . .New  Jersey 

November 

4, 1782. 

Thomas  Mifflin 

. . .Pennsylvania 

3,  1783. 

Richard  Henry  Lee.. 

30,  1784. 

Nathaniel  Gorham . . . 

. . .Massachusetts 

June 

6, 1786. 

Arthur  St.  Clair 

. . . Pennsylvania 

2, 1787. 

Cyrus  Griffin 

. .Virginia 

January 

22,  1788. 

American  Independence  declared  July  4,  1776. 


Articles  of  Confederation  adopted  July  9,  1778. 


CHIEF  JUSTICES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  SUPREME 
COURT,  1789-1881. 


John  Jay New  York September  26, 1789. 

John  Rutledge South  Carolina July  1, 1795. 

(Ratification  refused  by  the  Senate.) 

William  Cushing Massachusetts January  27,  1796. 

(Appointment  declined.) 

Oliver  Ellsworth Connecticut March  4, 1796. 

John  Jay Ne w Y ork December  19, 1800. 

(Appointment  declined.) 

John  Marshall Virginia January  31,  1801. 

Roger  B.  Taney Maryland December  28,  1835. 

Salmon  P.  Chase Ohio December  6,  1864. 

Morrison  R.  Waite Ohio January  21, 1874. 

Melville  W.  Fuller Illinois April  30,  1888 


APPENDIX. 


1213 


PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

FROM  1789  TO  1890. 


Name. 

Born. 

Died. 

Age 

George  Washington . . . 

Va.,  1732, 

Mt.  Vernon,  Va., 

1799, 

67 

John  Adams 

Mass.,  1735, 

Quincy,  Mass.,  July  4,  1826, 

91 

Thomas  Jefferson 

Va.,  1743, 

Monticello,  Va.,  July  4,  1826, 

83 

James  Madison 

Va.,  1751, 

Montpelier,  Vt., 

1836, 

85 

James  Monroe 

Va.,  1758, 

New  York,  July  4,  1831, 

73 

John  Quincy  Adams. . 

Mass.,  1767, 

Washington,  D.  C., 

1848, 

81 

Andrew  Jackson 

N.  C.,  1767, 

Hermitage,  Tenn., 

1845, 

78 

Martin  Van  Buren. . . . 

N.  Y„  1782, 

Kinderhook,  N.  Y., 

1862, 

80 

Wm.  Henry  Harrison. 

Va.,  1773, 

Washington,  D.  C., 

1841, 

68 

John  Tyler 

Va.,  1790, 

Richmond,  Va., 

1862, 

72 

James  K.  Polk 

N.  C.,  1795, 

Nashville,  Tenn., 

1849, 

54 

Zachary  Taylor 

Va.,  1784, 

Washington,  D.  C., 

1850, 

66 

Millard  Fillmore 

o 

o 

00 

i-H 

Buffalo,  N.Y., 

1873, 

73 

Franklin  Pierce 

N.  H.,1804, 

Concord,  N.  H., 

1869, 

65 

James  Buchanan 

Penn., 1791, 

Wheatland,  Penn., 

1868, 

77 

Abraham  Lincoln 

Ky„  1809, 

Washington,  D.  C., 

1865, 

56 

Andrew  Johnson 

IN.  C.,  1808, 

Greenville,  Tenn., 

1875, 

67 

Ulysses  S.  Grant 

Ohio,  1822, 

Mt.  McGregor,  N.  Y., 

1885, 

63 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes. . 

<f  1822, 

James  A.  Garfield 

" 1831, 

Elberon,  N.J.,  Sept.  19,  1881, 

50 

Chester  A.  Arthur. . . . 

Vt.,  1830, 

New  York  City,  Nov.  18,  ’86, 

56 

Grover  Cleveland 

N.  J.,  1837, 

Benjamin  Harrison.. 

Ohio,  1833, 

. 1 

J 214 


APPENDIX, 


POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


According  to  the  latest  Census.  1S90. 


States. 

Population. 

States. 

Population. 

Alabama 

1,508,073 

Nebraska 

...  1,056,793 

Arkansas 

1,125,385 

Nevada 

44,327 

California 

1,204,002 

New  Hampshire 

. . . . 375,827 

Colorado 

410,975 

New  Jersey 

...  1,441,017 

Connecticut 

745,861 

New  York 

...  5,981,934 

Delaware 

167,871  ' 

North  Carolina  . . . . 

....  1,617,340 

Florida , 

390,435 

North  Dakota 

. . . 182,425 

Georgia 

1,834,366 

Ohio 

. ..  3,666,719 

Idaho  

84,229 

Oregon 

. . . . 312,490 

Illinois 

3,818,536 

Pennsylvania 

. ...  5,248,574 

Indiana 

2,189,030  i 

Rhode  Island 

...  345,343 

Iowa 

1,906,729 

South  Carolina. . . . 

....  1,147,161 

Kansas 

. . . . 1,423,485 

South  Dakota 

. . . . 327,848 

Kentucky 

1,855,436 

Tennessee 

. ...  1,763,723 

Louisiana 

Texas 

. ...  2,232,220 

Maine 

660,261 

Vermont 

. . . . 332,205 

Maryland 

1,040,431 

1 Virginia 

. ...  1,648,911 

Massachusetts 

2,233,407 

i Washington 

. . . . 349,516 

Michigan  

2,089,792 

West  Virginia  . . . . 

. . . . 760,448 

Minnesota 

1,300,017 

Wisconsin 

. ...  1,683,697 

Mississippi 

1,284,887 

Wjroming 

60,589 

Missouri 

2,677,080 

Montana 

131,769 

Total  of  States . . 

....61,777,992 

Territories. 

Population.  I Territories. 

Population. 

Alaska 

Oklahoma 

61,701 

Arizona 

59,691  | Utah 

. 206,498 

District  of  Columbia 

. ..  229,796 



New  Mexico 

. . . 144,862  Total  of  Territories. 

. 702,548 

“ “ States 

.61,777,992 

Total  United  States  (1890) 

.62,480,540 

“ 

1 (1880) 

.50,155,783 

“ “ “ (1870) 

.38,558  371 

4 1 < t 

‘ (1860) 

.31,218,021 

appendix. 


1215 


THE  MOST  POPULOUS  CITIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


No.  Cities.  1890. 

1 New  York 1,513,501 

2 Chicago 1,099,133 

3 Philadelphia. . . .1,046,252 

4 Brooklyn 804,377 

5 St.  Louis 460,357 

6 Boston 446,507 

7 Baltimore 433,547 

8 San  Francisco.. . 297,990 

9 Cincinnati 296,309 

10  Cleveland 261,546 

11  Buffalo 254,457 

12  New  Orleans...  241,995 

13  Pittsburg 238,473 

14  Washington  City  229,796 

15  Detr.lt 205,669 

16  Milwaukee 204,150 

17  Newark 184,518 

18  Minneapolis  ....  164,738 

19  Jersey  City 163,987 

20  Louisville 161,005 

21  Rochester 138,327 

22  St.  Paul 133,156 

23  Kansas  City. . . . 132,416 

24  Providence 132,043 

25  Indianapolis ....  107,445 

26  Allegheny 104,967 

27  Columbus,  O. . . 90,398 

28  Albany 94,640 

29  Syracuse,  N.  Y. . 87,877 

30  New  Haven 85,981 

31  Worcester 84,536 

32  Scranton 83,450 

33  Toledo 82  652 

34  Richmond 80,838 

35  Paterson 78,358 

36  Lowell 77,605 

37  Nashville 76,309 

38  Fall  River 74,351 

39  Cambridge,  Mass.  69,837 

40  Wilmington,  Del.  61,437 

41  Troy 60,699 

42  Reading 58,926 

43  Charleston,  S.  C.  54,592 

44  Hartford 53,182 

45  Camden,  N.  J. . . 52,274 


1880. 

1870. 

1860. 

1,206,590 

942  292 

805,658 

503,304 

298,877 

109,260 

846,984 

674,022 

565,529 

566,689 

396,009 

206,661 

350,522 

310,864 

160,773 

362,535 

250,526 

177,840 

332,190 

367,354 

212,411 

233,956 

149,743 

56,802 

255,708 

216,239 

161,044 

160,142 

92,829 

43,417 

155,137 

117,714 

81,129 

216,140 

191,418 

168,675 

156,381 

86,076 

49,217 

147,307 

109,199 

61,122 

116,342 

79,577 

45,619 

115,578 

71,440 

45,246 

136,400 

105,059 

71,941 

46.8V7 

13,066 

120,728 

82,546 

29,226 

123,645 

100,753 

68,033 

89,363 

62,386 

48,204 

41,498 

20, 030  below  11,500 

55,813 

32,260 

104,850 

68,904 

50,666 

75,074 

48,244 

18,611 

78,681 

53,180 

28,702 

51,665 

31,274 

18,555 

90,903 

69,422 

62,367 

51,791 

43,051 

28,119 

62,882 

50,840 

39,267 

58,295 

41,105 

24,960 

45,850 

35,092 

50,143 

31,584 

13.768 

63,803 

51,018 

37.910 

50,887 

33,579 

19,588 

59,485 

40,928 

36,827 

43,461 

25,865 

16,987 

49,006 

26,766 

14,026 

52,740 

39,634 

26,060 

42,499 

30,841 

21,258 

56,747 

40,463 

39,235 

43,280 

33,630 

23,162 

49,999 

48,956 

40,574 

42,553 

37,180 

29,152 

41,658 

20,015 

14.358 

- 


IReb  letter  life  of  the  IRepublic, 


LIFE  STUDIES  FROM  THE  GREA  T REBELLION. 

Abraham  Lincoln: 

The  True  Story  of  a Great  Life. 

SHOWING  THE  INNER  GROWTH,  SPECIAL  TRAINING,  AND  PECUL- 
IAR FITNESS  OF  THE  MAN  FOR  HIS  WORK. 

By  WILLIAM  O.  STODDARD, 

ONE  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN’S  SECRETARIES  DURING  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION. 

New,  Revised  Edition,  enriched  with  valuable  matter. 

miitt)  KUustrati'ons. 


“The  public  life  of  Hampden  . . . resembles  a regular  drama  which  can  be 
criticised  as  a whole,  and  every  scene  of  which  is  to  be  viewed  in  connection  with 
the  main  action.”— Macaulay’s  Essay  on  Pitt. 


“ His  account  of  Mr.  Lincoln’s  youth  is 
very  striking,  and  he  gives  a minute  and 
i nteresting  narrative  of  the  slow  and  care- 
ful steps  by  which  he  fitted  himself  for 
political  life.  He  brings  out  distinctly 
Mr.  Lincoln’s  sagacity  and  patience  in 
critical  periods  of  great  enterprises ; he 
explains  admirably  his  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  popular  sentiment  and 
disposition,  and  shows  what  shrewd  use 
was  made  of  that  knowledge;  and  he  sets 
in  strong  light  the  President’s  patriot- 
ism, unselfishness,  tenderness,  and  re- 
ligious spirit.” — New  York  Tribune. 

“ Careful  and  exact  in  details,  where 
details  are  accessible ; expressing  at 
every  point  a profound  admiration — nay, 
reverence— for  the  individuality  of  its 
subject,  yet  glossing  over  no  defect,  no 
uncouthness  of  manner,  no  fault  of  tem- 
per ; keeping  always  to  the  true  histori- 
cal perspective,  and  setting  forth  the  per- 
son of  Lincoln  in  high  relief  against  the 
dark  background  of  the  times  ; summing 
up  the  evolution  of  political  parties,  the 
history  of  a military  campaign,  in  a page 
or  a paragraph:  written  in  terse,  clear- 
cut  English  ; and  intensely  readable  from 
beginning  to  end— Mr.  Stoddard’s,  in 
our  opinion,  approaches  closely  to  the 
ideal  biography,  and  scarcely  will  be  su- 
perseded by  the  efforts  of  any  subsequent 
author.” — Literary  World , Boston. 

“ It  is  in  truth  the  story  of  Abraham 
Lincoln’s  life,  rather  than  his  mere  biog- 
raphy. Mr.  Stoddard  has  told  his  ‘ story  ’ 
in  the  most  entertaining  way.  It  is  a 
book  to  lie  on  the  family  table  and  to  be 


often  and  enjoyably  perused.” — Chris • 
tian  Standard , Chicago. 

“ Contains  much  new  and  valuable  in- 
formation in  regard  to  Lincoln’s  life  and 
personal  character.  tFrom  it  we  get  a 
definite  impression  of  life  at  the  White 
House  during  the  first  four  years  of  the 
war,  as  well  as  some  idea  of  Executive 
methods  during  those  troublous  times. 
The  author  has  been  very  judicious  in 
the  selection  of  anecdotes  and  has  com- 
pressed within  reasonable  limits  the 
great  mass  of  material  at  his  command. 
His  book  is  very  readable  and  deserving 
a wide  circulation.”— Evening  Journal , 
Chicago. 

“ Mr.  Stoddard’s  is  the  best,  because  it 
faithfully  relates  the  facts  and  attempts 
no  fulsome  eulogies.  Abounds  in  senti- 
ment so  happily  blended  with  history  as 
to  make  it  as  attractive  as  any  romance. 
There  is  no  better  book  to  place  in  the 
hands  of  boys  and  girls.” — Chicago  Inter- 
Ocean. 

“ It  is  not  invidious  to  say  that  as  yet 
no  other  that  has  been  written  can  be 
compared  to  this , were  it  only  because  no 
other  biographer  has  seen  Mr.  Lincoln  so 
near  and  so  completely.” — New  York 
Times. 

“ Has  strong  claims  upon  the  interest 
and  attention  of  every  American.  . . . 
A graphic  and  entertaining  biography, 
as  rich  in  incident  as  any  romance,  and 
sparkling  with  wise  wit  and  racy  anec- 
dote. It  comprises  a large  mass  of  valu- 
able and  judiciously  epitomized  informa- 
tion.”— Harper's  Monthly. 


i Vol.,  Large  8vo.  Illustrated.  English  Drake-Neck  Cloth,  S3. 25. 


IReb  letter  life  of  the  Republic 


1492-1892 ’ 


FOUR  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY. 


Complete  from  the  discovery  of  the  Continent  to  Harrison  s Administration, 
embracing  the  Colonial , the  Constitutional , the  Rebellion , the 
Reconstruction  and  the  Present  periods. 


PATTON’S 


“ Mr.  Patton  is  a scholar  ; his  history  I 
is  one  of  the  very  best  ever  published/’ 

— Christian  World , London. 

“ The  style  is  clear  and  simple,  and  j 
the  author  does  not  fail  to  be  compre-  | 
hensive  and  thorough  in  the  attempt  to  | 
be  succinct.  It  is  an  excellent  history 
by  which  to  form  the  minds  of  youth  J 
to  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  liberty  ! 
and  an  enlightened  patriotism.”— -V.  Y. 
Independent. 

“ This  book  is  a marvel  of  concise- 
ness. From  preface  to  index,  every- 
thing in  the  volume  speaks  of  system- 
atic and  laborious  concentration.  The 
facts  of  American  History  have  been 
subjected,  seemingly,  to  some  rare 
power  of  condensation,  and,  as  here 
presented,  are  truly  a sort  of  double 
extract  of  history.  It  is  brevity  itself. 
All  that  is  needed  is  to  be  found  in  it 
and  nothing  superfluous  has  been  ad- 
mitted. That  which  meets  the  reader’s 
eye  is  the  sum  of  the  whole  matter.” — 
Boston  Post. 

“ The  religious  and  Christian  ele- 
ments are  emphasized.  The  proportion 
of  the  parts,  too,  is  well  maintained. 

It  seems  to  us  to  be  a valuable  work, 
and  one  which  fills  a place  hitherto  left 
vacant.” — American  Theological  Re- 
view. 

“ The  man’s  heart  is  in  his  work,  and 
he  has  put  his  Christianitj'  in  it  as  well, 
and  these  merits,  combined  with  its 
accuracy  and  succinctness  will  render 
these  volumes  acceptable  to  every 
student  worthy  of  the  name.” — Toronto 
Globe. 

“ Mr.  Patton’s  style  is  deserving  of 
unqualified  praise.  It  is  pure,  simple. 


strong,  free  from  mannerism,  and 
singularly  easy  and  graceful.  We  an- 
ticipate for  the  work  a cordial  recep- 
tion and  extensive  popularity  among 
those  who  know  how  to  prize  the  best 
books.” — North  American  Review. 

“As  a convenient  family  history, 
portable  and  easy  of  reference,  Mr. 
Patton’s  work  cannot  fail  to  fall  into 
very  general  use.” — N.  Y.  Herald. 

“ Prof.  Patton’s  * Concise  History  of 
the  American  People,’  having  been  in 
such  frequent  demand,  has  been  kept 
(not  on  the  shelves,  but)  among  other 
books  of  ready  reference  in  the  li- 
brary. ” — F.  Saunders,  Librarian , in 
The  Astor  Library , New  York. 

“ * * * The  writer  has  done  his 

work  well.  The  style  is  easy,  and  the 
book  is  written  in  the  form  of  a con- 
tinuous narrative.  The  author  has 
consulted  original  authorities,  but  he 
makes  no  parade  of  this  fact  in  cum- 
brous foot-notes.  And,  what  is  par- 
ticularly gratifying,  he  does  ample  jus- 
tice to  the  religious  elements  that  enter 
into  the  making  of  the  American  peo- 
ple. Amy  one  can  satisfy  himself  on 
this  point  by  reading  what  he  has  to 
say  concerning  the  effect  of  the  Refor- 
mation on  American  history,  the 
Huguenots,  John  Eliot,  .the  Pilgrim 
Fathers,  and  Jonathan  Edwards.  The 
contrast  in  this  respect  between  the 
present  volume  and  another  recent  pub- 
lication on  the  same  subject  is  very 
great.  We  hope  that  Mr.  §atton’s 
work  will  have  a place  in  many  Chris- 
tian homes.”  — Francis  L.  Patton, 
D.  D.,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  His- 
i tory,  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 


These  volumes  are  in  use  at  various  Universities  in  classes  of  U.  S. 
History , and  are  also  kept  for  reference  and  collateral  readings  in  the 
libraries  of  many  private  and  public  schools. 

New,  Revised  Edition,  2 vols. , Cloth,  1228  pages,  Illustrated,  $5.00. 


1ReJ>  letter  life  of  tbe  IRepubltc, 


Patriotic  Addresses: 

IN  AMERICA  AND  ENGLAND,  1850-1885. 

By  HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 


Edited,  with  a Review  of  Mr.  Beecher’s  Personality  and 
Influence  in  Public  Affairs, 

By  JOHN  R.  HOWARD. 


This  volume  shows  Henry  Ward  Beecher’s  career  as  a Na- 
tional Force.  It  begins  with  his  bol4  article  on  the  Missouri 
Compromise  and  the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill,  in  1850,  gives  a splendid 
array  of  his  sermons  and  orations  during  the  war,  in  America  and  in 
England,  continues  with  his  finest  efforts  on  public  affairs  since  that 
era,  and  fitly  closes  with  his  eulogy  on  Grant  in  1885.  The  Patriotic 
Addresses  constitute  a glowing  Picture  of  the  Times:  their  statements, 
often  violently  disputed  when  first  set  forth,  have  now  hardened  into 
accepted  truth  ; their  matter  and  style  will  stand  among  the  most 
enduring  monuments  of  the  orator’s  genius. 

I.  Freedom  and  Slavery. — Shall  We  Compromise?  1850;  American 
Slavery,  1851;  On  Which  Side  is  Peace?  1856;  The  Nation's  Duty  to  Slavery , 
1859;  Against  a Compromise  of  Principle,  i860;  Our  Blameworthiness,  1861. 

II.  Civil  War. — The  Battle  Set  in  Array ; The  National  Flag;  The 
Camp  : Its  Dangers  and  Duties,  1861  ; Modes  and  Duties  of  Emancipation  ; The 
Success  of  American  Democracy;  National  Injustice  and  Penalty;  The  Ground 
and  Fortns  cf  Government  ; Liberty  Under  Laws,  1862;  “ The  Minister  Pleni- 
potentiary," by  O.  W.  Holmes.  Reprinted  from  the  “ Atlantic  Monthly"  of fan - 
uary,  1864,  descriptive  of  Mr.  Beecher"' s speeches  in  England  in  1863;  Speeches  at 
Manchester , England;  Glasgow;  Edinburgh;  Liverpool;  Exeter  Hall,  London; 
Farewell  Meetings , London;  Manchester;  Liverpool;  Beecher's  Own  Account  of 
the  English  Speeches;  Home  Reception:  Academy  of  Music,  Brooklyn,  1863;  Fort 
Sumter  Flag  Raising,  1865. 

III.  Civil  Liberty.  —Death  of  Lincoln;  Conditions  of  A Restored  Union , 
1865;  Reconstruction  of  the  Southern  States,  1866;  National  Unity,  1869;  Centeti- 
nial  Review,  1876;  Past  Perils  and  the  Peril  of  To-Day,  1877;  Address  before  the 
Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  1878  ; Retrospect  and  Prospect,  1884  ; Eulogy 
of  Grant , 1885. 


Octavo,  808  pages.  Illustrated  with  Portraits  of  Mr.  Beecher.  !$2. 


“ No  library  and  no  public  man  should 
be  without  a copy  of  this  valuable  vol- 
ume.”—Senator  William  M.  Evarts. 

“ One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the 
many  memorable  volumes  which  have 
been  caught,  as  it  were,  from  his  lips.”  — 
Noah  Porter,  President  Yale  College. 

“ Mr.  Howard’s  original  contribution 
to  this  book  is  perhaps  the  most  admi- 
rable summary  of  the  subject  that  has 
yet  appeared.  . . . indispensable  to 
those  who  would  justly  estimate  Mr. 
Beecher’s  life  and  labors.”— Prof.  R. 
W.  Raymond,  Ph.D. 

“ I should  be  glad  if  all  American  citi- 
zens could  avail  of  this  opportunity  to 
acquaint  themselves  with  the  spirit  and 


power  of  this  great  patriot  and  orator.” 
—Seth  Low,  President  of  Columbia 
College,  New  York. 

“ A vade  mecum  for  every  man  who 
may  hereafter  be  called  on  in  troubled 
times,  to  maintain  the  right,  and  to  de- 
fend the  truth  of  the  great  principles  of 
our  country.”— Rev.  Chas.  H.  Hall, 
D.D„  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 

Brooklyn . 

“ Voice  and  pen  were  as  potent  as 
military  genius.  The  services  of  Henry 
Ward  Beecher  during  the  nation’s  strug- 
gle deserve  to  be  set  alongside  of  those 
of  Lincoln,  Grant  and  Seward.  No  sin- 
gle personality  spoke  to  so  many  mill- 
ions of  people,  none  spoke  with  such 
mighty  effect.”  — Christian  Register, 
Boston. 


1Re&  letter  life  of  tbe  IRcpublic 


LIFE  STUDIES  FROM  THE  GREA  T REBELLION. 


BULLET  AND  SHELL. 

as  the  £0  Idler  saw  it : 

CAMP,  MARCH  AND  PICKET;  BATTLE-FIELD  AND  BIVOUAC; 
PRISON  AND  HOSPITAL. 

By  GEORGE  F.  WILLIAMS, 

OF  THE  5TH  AND  146TH  REGIMENTS  NEW  YORK  VOLUNTEERS,  AND  WAR  CORRESPONDENT 
WITH  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC,  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  SHENAN- 
DOAH, AND  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  CUMBERLAND. 

3Ulu$fra{et> 

WITH  ENGRAVINGS  FROM  SKETCHES  AMONG  THE  ACTUAL  SCENES 

By  EDWIN  FORBES, 

PICTORIAL  WAR  CORRESPONDENT;  AUTHOR  OF  ‘'LIFE  STUDIES  OF  THE  GREAT  ARMY 
MEMBER  OF  THE  FRENCH  ETCHING  CLUB. 


“ Very  correct  history  U.  S.  Grant. 

“ I have  no  hesitation  in  recommend- 
ing your  interesting  volume.  . . . The 
vein  of  humor  and  fun  which  pervades 
your  book  is  also  the  usual  attendant  of 
the  ranks  of  any  army,  especially  a suc- 
cessful one,  and  largely  diminishes  the 
mental  strain  which  otherwise  might  be- 
come unendurable.  The  illustrations  of 
Edwin  Forbes  add  much  to  the  value 
of  the  volume,  recalling  similar  and  par- 
allel scenes  in  every  campaign.” — W.  T. 
Sherman. 

11 1 have  read  the  book,  and  enjoyed  it 
extremely,  as  giving  such  an  admirable 
picture  of  the  interior  of  army  life.  . . . 
Your  book  deals  with  the  units  who  form 
the  great  masses  of  men  called  armies, 
and  tells  how  they  think  and  feel,  act  and 
suffer,  live  and  die..  ...  As  a matter  of 
history  your  book  is  very  valuable,  . . . 
and  every  soldier  who  reads  the  book  will 
see  himself  in  many  of  the  scenes  de- 
scribed.”— Geo.  B.  McClellan. 

“ Mr.  George  F. Williams  is  a conspic- 
uous figure  among  newsgatherers  to-day, 


and  was  a graphic  war  correspondent  of 
this  journal  during  the  rebellion.  Mr. 
Williams  was  an  eye-witness  of  many  of 
the  most  important  battles  of  the  war, 
fought  in  some  of  them  himself,  and  was, 
as  a correspondent,  attached  at  different 
periods  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and 
the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah  [also  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland]  . . . many  of 
the  incidents  in  it  belonging  to  the  hith 
erto  unwritten  history  of  the  rebellion.  ” 
— New  York  Times. 

“ All  the  many  phases  of  war  are  viv- 
idly portrayed,  and  that,  too.  without 
any  sacrifice  of  the  truth  of  history.”-- 
New  York  Tribune. 

' ' We  know  of  no  more  stirring  and  soul- 
inspiring  book.  It  is  a story  to  delight 
the  old  soldier’s  heart.  He  can  take  it  up 
and  read  it  to  his  boys,  and  as  the  flood 
of  memory  rushes  on  his  brain,  and  a 
spark  of  the  old  fire  kindles  in  his  blood, 
he  can  say  as  he  finishes  some  vivid  pas- 
sage that  recalls  the  past,  * Boys,  I was 
there!”* — New  York  Commercial  Ad- 
vertiser. 


While  these  graphic  recitals  are  of  permanent  value  in  the  training  of  American 
youth,  they  have  also  been  read  with  absorbing  interest  by  literary  critics,  statesmen, 
army  officers  of  highest  grade,  and  old  campaigners  from  the  ranks.  They  are  full  of 
information  and  inspiration,  manly  and  pure  in  tone,  possessing  interest  and  instruction 
for  old  and  young,  and  admirably  suited  to  the  family  library. 


1 Vol.,  Large  8vo,  Illustrated*  Popular  Edition,  Clotli,  $2. 


